The Angel's Ploy
by ChelseaDagger14
Summary: "His eyes dropped to meet mine and the expression turned to shock in less than a second. "Nice to meet you." I said politely. And then he fell. No, literally. To the ground. He fell to his knees." Jacob/OC Post-BD
1. a wrong turn

_The Angels' Ploy_

**Chapter 1- a wrong turn**

_There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me_. –**_Pride and Prejudice_**

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><p>"Skylar…" My best friend Kelsey whined my name. "Can you <em>please<em> detach yourself from Mark for like, five minutes so we can go try on clothes?" Mark was my on again off again boyfriend. We were currently on. I'll be the first to admit he's a bit of a jerk, but I've always had a thing for bad boys.

"Did you hear something babe?" Mark smirked, ignoring Kelsey.

I played along. "Yes, kind of like a dull buzzing?"

Kelsey rolled her eyes and pulled me by the elbow into about the fifth clothing store she has dragged me to since we got to Seattle. "You know how much I hate playing the third wheel…" She complained.

"You wouldn't have that problem if you had let me bring you that guy like I suggested." I pointed out to her.

"I am not letting you set me up with any of Mark's weird friends!" She exclaimed, shoving a dress into my hands for me to try on.

"Your choice…" I mumbled dejectedly. We spent about another ten minutes in the store before going back to Mark, who looked about as bored as I felt. It was starting to get dark out, but Kelsey insisted that there was one more store she had to get to before we left.

Apparently though, the store was invisible, because we spent half-an-hour walking, finding nothing. "I swear, the map says its right here…" Kelsey grumbled unhappily,

"Kelsey. We. Are. Lost." I annunciated, hoping to drive the point home. Not only were we lost, but it was dark out and we were not in a nice part of town.

"Fine," She pouted childishly. "Let's just go back to the car."

"Do you even know how to get back to the car?" Mark asked, frustrated.

"Of course!" She replied incredulously, holding the map out in front of her. "I, uh… we just- hold on." I groaned, and thanked whatever God there was that we had brought Mark's piece-of-shit car and not my Jag. That thing was my baby and I treated it as such. If Kelsey had lost her, I might need some blood retribution- best friend status be damned.

"It's right down this way." She said confidently, then proceeded to lead us down what looked to be a small dark alleyway. I exchanged a look with Mark then sighed. I had to meet up with my dad and brothers tomorrow at the airport, and they would flip out if I had to call them to pick us up in the middle of Seattle. I cringed, imagining the conversation. They would never let me into the city again- that's for sure.

My brothers were overprotective to the extreme. My mother died when I was young, I only have a few really clear memories of her. My father was in the Navy, and after he finished his service and settled down with a family, he became an instructor at Navy College. I actually grew up on the campus- that place is my home.

My oldest brother Tom is thirty. He followed in Dad's footsteps and went to Navy. He just got home from his second tour in Afghanistan. He recently got engaged to a girl named Charlotte. I've only met her a few times, but I really like her.

Next is Bryan, who is twenty five. Again, like Dad, he went to Navy. He is currently in training to become a Navy Seal. I always tease him and ask him when he's going to get a girlfriend- he jokes right back and says I'm the only woman in his life. When I was a kid he used to spoil me rotten. He's secretly my favorite.

And, last but not least, we have Alex. Alex is 22, and his idea of rebellion is attending Army instead of Navy. When he told Dad, everyone was expecting a big explosion, but he actually took it pretty well. Granted, Dad promised to never-ever-under-any-circumstances cheer for Army at football games, but still. Better than expected. Alex is graduating this year.

What about me, you ask? Well, I defied them all when at the age of 18 I announced that I was going to a liberal college in Seattle to study art and dance. After the shock wore off however, they declared that they were very happy for me. My Dad even offered some heartfelt words about how much I reminded him of Mom.

So now you can see my dilemma as I stand at the edge of that alleyway. Do I call one of my brothers to come pick me up and risk them never letting me out of their sights again, or do I follow Kelsey into the possibly dangerous alley and maybe get mugged? I follow her without a second thought.

Kelsey was quiet as we walked. "Hello little girl…" I gasped involuntarily and turned around, only to see Mark smirking at me.

"You asshole," I hissed at him, hitting his shoulder.

"Kelsey?" I called. I turned around for one second and she disappeared. Great. "Kelsey!" I repeated.

I felt someone grab my arm and pull on me. "Mark! Fuck off!" I said angrily. I turned around to fix him with a glare… only to find that it was _not _Mark.

"Sky! Run!" I heard Kelsey shriek from around the corner. I moved myself to a defensive position and punched the man in the nose. There was a flash of metal and I realized he had a knife.

My appearance can be deceiving at times. I may be small and blonde with "innocent blue dove eyes" (or so Bryan tells me), but I can pack quite a punch. I had the large man on the ground in under thirty seconds.

"Ah, this one has some fight in her. Good. She'll go for more money." A sinister voice said from behind me. I spun around. There were five more men in the dimly lit alley, all with either a knife similar to that of the man I had just incapacitated, or with a gun. One of them had Kelsey. I'm brave and a good fighter, but I'm not suicidal.

There was no point in running. I would either be caught, or shot. I also wasn't about to leave Kelsey alone. One of them grabbed my arm roughly, and I made eye contact with Kelsey, who looked close to tears. I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring look.

"Sky?" Mark called from the other end of the alley. I could only see his silhouette until he stepped under the lamppost. His eyes seemed to drink in the sight of us- five hulking men with weapons holding Kelsey and I. In less than a second, he had his phone out and was dialing what I assumed was 911. The man with the gun must have thought the same thing, but instead of shooting him like I expected, he gave Mark an amused look and began speaking.

"I'll make you a deal boy. Leave now, you never saw anything, and I'll let you live." Mark's fingers froze on the phone. He closed his cell and gave the man a stiff nod, not making eye contact with either me or Kelsey, before walking away.

_Coward! Betrayer! _ My head screamed. My face remained an impassive mask of defiance.

As soon as Mark disappeared from sight, the man (who will from here on be referred to as Boss-Man) pulled a rag out of his back pocket. Boss-man took a water bottle from another man and doused the rag with it. He held the rag to Kelsey's face. She thrashed and struggled for about a minute before going limp in her captor's arms.

I watched this all with silent horror. Boss-man came to me next and the smell of chloroform filled my senses. I knew it would be useless to struggle, so I focused on taking shallow breaths. Blackness tinged my vision. Strangely, my last thought was that I was probably going to miss my dance performance.

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><p><em>Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.<em> I groaned quietly and there was a sudden jerk, and I rolled over onto something solid. I tried to move my arms and legs but soon discovered that they were tied together with ropes. I recalled the events leading up to my waking up here and realized with terror that it wasn't just a bad dream. The solid thing I had rolled onto was Kelsey, who was still unconscious and we were currently in the trunk of a moving vehicle.

The thumping continued. I held my head which pounded with each thump and came to the conclusion that it was merely the worst headache known to man. No big deal. I fiddled with the ropes connecting my wrists and found that they were loose enough that I managed to get out of them in under ten minutes, with a little effort. I rubbed my now-free wrists triumphantly and quickly untied my ankles.

First things first- I checked Kelsey's pulse. Steady, strong, but I couldn't seem to shake her awake. I felt the car rumble to a halt and heard a car door slam. I desperately wrapped the ropes back around my ankles and wrists loosely, laying back down into a place and trying to look unconscious.

A light shined beneath my eyelids as the trunk opened. "They still out?" Boss-man asked.

"Yeah, I doubt they're waking up anytime soon." Another voice answered.

"Well then let's do the exchange. I don't want to risk it." Boss-man said impatiently. I focused on keeping my body limp as I felt myself being lifted over someone's shoulder. If I have any shot of getting away, it's right now.

With that thought I threw my palms down and kicked. I was abruptly dropped to the floor in shock. I had about one second to take note of my surroundings before picking a direction to run in- the woods.

Someone from behind made a grab at me and managed to grasp my silver necklace. The chain broke and it hit the pavement on the road. My necklace however, was the least of my concerns as I sprinted towards the thick foliage with my kidnappers hot on my trail.

I took twists and turns in the dark woods. I think about five minutes passed before I risked a glance back. I couldn't see anyone behind me, but that didn't mean they weren't there. I was panting heavily as my back hit a tree and I slid down to sit and catch my breath.

"Little Girl!" I tensed up. Boss-man's voice was calling me. I don't think he knew where I was, he was just yelling. "I know you're out there Little Girl- I know you can hear me! Listen closely- your night is going to end one of two ways. Either I find you- or the wolves will." His voice rang through the forest with an intimidating echo as the thought of wolves and men with guns controlled my brain. I shivered out of cold and fear before forcing my legs back up to run again.

This time I didn't stop to catch my breath- I just kept running. I don't know how long- a few hours maybe. I could have been running in circles for all I know. All I can say is that when I finally collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion, there was an orange-ish tint to the sky. I'm assuming it was dawn.

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><p>Voices. I was hearing voices. They were very far away though. Either that or they were speaking very quietly.<p>

"Sam! Sam!" They said.

"Get Emily,"

"…be okay?"

"Who is… find her?"

"…on patrol…don't know… just laying there… dead?" These voices weren't making any sense. It didn't help that I could only catch every few words. Were they talking about me?

"Is everything okay?" A new voice- a woman's voice asked.

"Yes… help her?" Help. Were they helping me? I don't remember why right now, but I needed help. I think it had something to do with Kelsey. When did remembering things become so hard? Just trying made me sleepy.

The voices were talking again in the background, but I wasn't paying attention anymore. I wanted to sleep.

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><p>I awoke suddenly, gasping for air and clutching my chest. Everything that has happened to me in the past day came back with a crushing speed. Last I remembered I was in the forest. And then there were the voices. Now where am I?<p>

It appeared to be a neatly furnished bedroom, with yellow walls and a bathroom. Did the kidnappers find me? Or did I wander into some cabin last night and collapse on the first bed I saw? I honestly don't know- but I'm not taking any chances.

I stood up from my bed and was surprised to find that the cuts on my arms from running through the woods and getting hit by twigs and branches had been wrapped. That doesn't really seem like something Boss-Man would do.

I stumbled clumsily into the bathroom. I glanced into the mirror- expecting the worst. I was pleasantly taken aback by what I saw. For someone who was kidnapped and spent the night in the forest, I looked pretty decent. I came to the conclusion that someone must have cleaned me up.

Granted, my clothes were basically rags now, but I wouldn't want strangers changing me anyway. I glanced around the room, trying to look for a weapon. If I went downstairs to find Boss-Man and his cronies all huddled around a table I wasn't going down without a fight. I figured I could even the playing field a little bit by arming myself.

It wasn't looking good though, seeing as the only thing remotely close to a weapon was the toothbrush, and I didn't think that was going to do a whole hell of a lot for me. When I walked back into the room my eyes landed on a pair of scissors. Not great, but they'll have to do.

I crept down the hall silently, then down the staircase. Before I turned the corner I heard speaking. Perfect. Eavesdropping time.

"What time is Jacob coming over?" Not Boss-Man, unless Boss-Man had suddenly turned female.

"Soon. I wanted to talk to him about the Alpha position. I need to stop phasing soon. I don't think he'll do it though." Also not Boss-Man.

"He'll do it for you Sam, you know he will."

"I don't know Emily. This place holds a lot of memories for him." The voice sounded weary. "How's the girl doing?"

"Good. She'll be waking up shortly." I didn't have time to ponder over their conversation because at that moment there was the sound of a door slamming open and the room was filled with rambunctious noises.

"Boys! Breakfast is on the table!" The female voice called. Food. My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten since lunch. How long ago was that? It seemed like years.

I decided it was time to make my presence known. I stepped around the corner and was greeted by the sight of a rather large group of buff, shirtless men all crushed into a dainty little kitchen. It was a bit of a paradox, really. Not to mention they all looked like male models.

When I stepped into the room, all conversation stopped. I gripped the scissors a little tighter behind my back. "Where am I? Who are you?" I asked. My voice was groggy and sore from the chloroform and my night in the woods. I was disappointed that my question came out sounding a little weaker than I would have liked.

One of the men (a younger looking one) stepped forward with a big grin on his face. "I'm Seth. I found you in the forest." He said triumphantly. He stuck a hand out for me to shake. I cautiously shook back. This kid was weird.

"Where am I?" I repeated.

"La Push, Washington." Said the male voice I was eavesdropping on before. He was just as large as the other men, but he looked a bit older and his eyes held a wisdom that I had seen before. It was the same wisdom that my father's eyes held, the same wisdom I had seen in Tom's eyes after he came back from Afghanistan for the first time. I knew right away that this man was to be respected.

I straightened my posture. "How far away is that from Seattle?" I asked him.

"A few hours," He stood up from the table. Holy crap, he's tall. "What's your name?"

"Skylar, sir."

"Want to explain why you were in my forest, Skylar?" _His_ forest? Who is this dude- the Lorax? Keeper of the trees?

I didn't have a chance to reply, because the woman from earlier was already chiding him. "Sam. Let the poor girl breathe. Are you hungry sweetheart?" I looked at the table full of food. There was bacon, eggs, and sausage. I stared at the feast.

_Food, morals, food, morals, food, morals? _The woman seemed to notice my hesitation. "Are you okay honey?" She asked, concerned.

"I'm vegetarian." I offered weakly.

"Oh! I'm sorry, let me get you something." I smiled at her when she handed me some toast. I devoured it instantly, unaware of just how hungry I had been.

"Thank you Ma'am." I said sheepishly when I realized my lack of manners. The men- boys?- were all still staring at me, wearing expressions ranging from caution to amusement to interest. "You all can eat now. I'm not going to do anything interesting, I promise." I said, gesturing with my hands. They started to fill their plates with massive amounts of food.

The woman chuckled from beside me. "They just aren't used to nice young girls like you. And enough with the Ma'am and Sir business. My name's Emily." She smiled brightly at me. She was really beautiful. She had some bad scars running up the side of her face, but they added a uniqueness that seemed to make her, if anything, more beautiful.

I smiled back at her. "Sorry, military family. You can call me Sky. If you don't mind me saying, you're very pretty. You remind me of Pocahontas." Sam seemed to like this comment because he smiled and put his arm around her.

"Pocahontas is my favorite princess!" A small voice said from beneath me. I looked down to see a young girl who was about four or five.

"Oh, hello. Pocahontas is my favorite too, but technically she isn't a princess." Don't challenge my Disney knowledge. I will destroy you every time.

"Of course she is! She is the chief's daughter, so that makes her practically a princess." The little girl said with a lisp.

"Practically a princess isn't a princess." I pointed out to the girl.

"It's close enough." She said stubbornly.

"Okay," I compromised, getting on to my knees on the floor so that I was eye level with her. "What about Belle? Is she a princess?"

She looked at me like I was stupid. "Duh, Beast is a prince."

"Ah, but is he? The story mentions nothing of his parents, so if they're dead, that would make Beast a king and her a queen." The little girl processed this information for a few seconds before she nodded.

"I like you. I'm Claire." Except it came out sounding a bit more like: "I wike you. I'm Cwaire." When she smiled she had little dimples- it was so cute.

"It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow adversary willing to debate the topic of Disney Trivia with me. I'm Sky." Claire nodded formally even though I'm pretty sure she has no idea what I just said. I shook her little hand amiably before sitting back in my chair.

That's when I noticed how quiet it had become. Again. "How did you… How did you do that?" One of the men asked, shocked.

"Do what?" I said, confused. Claire held her arms out to me and I picked her up and put her on my lap. She started to eat some of my toast.

"Get her to like you! She doesn't like anyone except Quil." He said, gesturing to another man (Quil, I'm assuming) with his thumb. Quil was looking between me and Claire with equal parts shock and disbelief.

I just shrugged. "I'm good with kids." Emily was smiling at me again.

The boys went back to their previous conversations while Claire ate a piece of bacon. An angry looking boy across the table was explaining (quite loud and in detail) a sexual conquest. How could he talk about this with Claire sitting on my lap? She's not deaf.

"Who's the whore?" I whispered to Emily, tilting my head in his direction. I must have spoken a little louder than I intended though, because everyone at the table (excluding said whore) burst out laughing. Even stoic Sam cracked a smile.

"That's Paul." Emily explained, still chuckling. I was red with embarrassment. Paul was also red, but I'm pretty sure it was with anger.

"Sorry…" I mumbled, ducking my head.

"It's okay, someone had to say it eventually." Seth consoled.

"Sky? Why are there scissors in your pocket?" Claire asked, poking at my weapon.

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly and put the scissors on the table. "Sorry," I repeated, facing Emily. "It was precautionary measure. I had to make sure you weren't kidnappers." I said, smiling weakly.

Sam straightened up in his seat. "Why would we be kidnappers?" He asked.

I slumped back down in the chair and picked up a squirming Claire to put her back down on the ground. "It's a long story." I said.

"We have time."

I bit my lip and tried to stall. "Do you have a phone I could use? I'll tell you what happened, but I would like to call my brother first. I was supposed to meet him at the airport…"

"Of course, of course!" Emily said, pulling out a cell phone and handing it to me. I thanked her and walked to the other side of the room, dialing Bryan's number. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" His voice sounded tired and upset.

"Bryan? It's Sky."

"_Sky_! Oh my god, are you okay? Where the hell are you? Why didn't you call? Did you know how worried we all were?" He yelled into the phone so loudly that I had to pull it away from my ear. I could have sworn some of the boys at the table were smirking. There is no way they could hear him from all the way over there…

"Bryan, I am fine. Calm down. Something… happened to me and Kelsey." I said.

"Something happened? What happened? Hold on, let me put Tom on the phone."

"No!" I almost yelled. "Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan no!" I repeated over and over again. "Do _not _put Tommy on the phone. The last thing I need is for him to freak out and send the entire Navy over here."

He sighed and there was a long pause. "What can I do Sky?"

"Just… stay put. Don't try to come find me. I'm going to work with the local authorities. I'll call you all the time so that you can know I'm safe. Please just trust me."

Another long pause. "Fine. But the second something happens- you call me. And the second this is all over- you call me and tell me what the hell is going on. Understand?"

I rolled my eyes at the use of his _I-am-a-Navy-Seal-therefore-you-must-respect-me_ voice. "Yes, sir."

"Love you Sky. Be safe."

"Ditto." I hung up the phone. I handed it back to Emily and had the weird feeling that everyone at the table had heard every word that had just been said. I was about to sit back down in my seat and begin to explain my situation to them when the door slammed open again.

Emily bounced out of her chair. "Jacob!" She called.

"Hey Em, it's been a while, huh?" Said a masculine voice.

"Everybody's in the kitchen." One of the men got up from the table to go greet Jacob.

"Jake, man." He said, giving him a bro-hug.

"Hey Embry." I took a moment to observe Jacob. He had an aura of sadness about him, which was only heightened by the fact that almost everyone in the room was treating him like he was an abused puppy. He also looked like he lived in the woods. Not that I should talk or anything. But despite all this, he was still really attractive. I couldn't help but notice that.

He went around greeting everyone. I would have been perfectly happy just to stay in the background, but Seth took it upon himself to introduce me. "This is Skylar. I found her in the woods." He said with pride, pushing me forward like I was his rescue pet or something.

I bit my lip and stared into his over six foot frame. His eyes dropped to meet mine and the expression in them turned to shock in less than a second. He had really beautiful brown eyes. I put my hand out to shake his. "Nice to meet you," I said politely.

And then he fell. No, literally. _To the ground_. He fell to his knees.


	2. a necklace

**Chapter 2- a necklace**

_Are you staring at me or her? 'Cause you're starting to freak me out. -**50 First Dates**_

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><p>The mood in the room went from stunned silence to mayhem in a matter so seconds. Jacob was ushered out of the room by Sam, Embry, and another man, but his eyes remained on my face until he exited the room.<p>

Emily put her hand on my back and showed me to the kitchen. She had the largest smile on her face that I had seen yet. I was still worried about Jacob. "What happened? Is he okay? Did I do something?"

Emily didn't look concerned at all. On the contrary, she looked pleased. "No, of course not sweetheart. He'll be fine now." She handed me some more toast and I ate it gratefully.

Embry and the other man came waltzing back in. Embry shot me a huge grin and took another piece of bacon. "Is Jacob okay?" I asked him.

"He's great." He replied, with no explanation. No one talked for a long moment and I'm pretty sure everyone in the room was biting back a smile. Seth wasn't even biting it back. He was just outright beaming at me. From what I've gathered though, he's always like that.

Still, I feel like I'm missing out on a really funny joke. I decided changing the subject would be the best way to diffuse the obvious tension in the room. "Do you know where the local authorities are in this town?"  
>"We are the authorities." Said the other man who took Jacob out. "I'm Jared, by the way."<p>

"Hi," I said with a small smile. "So who do I talk to if I want to report a kidnapping?" I asked casually.

You could hear a pin drop in the room. "A kidnapping?" Sam clarified, walking back with Jacob in tow. Jacob still looked a little dazed.

I nodded. "Why don't you start from the beginning?" Emily said softly, leading me to the sofa where I sat down.

I obliged her request and started to divulge my story- excluding Mark from the scenario. When I got to the part about the chloroform, I noticed that Jacob was shaking. I interrupted my own story. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked him.

"I'm fine." He growled. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

"Jacob…" Sam said in a tone that implied warning.

"I'm fine Sam. I'm in control." He nearly spat. Fine? He looked like he was about to have a seizure.

Sam nodded and looked to me. "Continue…"

I nodded hesitantly and decided to condense the story for Jacob's sake. "So basically after that I woke up tied up in the trunk of a van with a massive headache. I managed to untie the ropes from my wrists and I escaped into the forest and woke up here." I said, spreading my arms around me.

"Did you see where the van parked?" Sam asked, all business.

I bit my lip. "No. It was dark; there were woods all around."

"Can you tell us what the men looked like?"

I sighed, happy there was something I could do to help. "I can draw one of them for you. I'm an art minor." I offered.

Emily went to get me a pad of paper and a pencil. I wasn't looking at Jacob, but I could feel him staring at me. It was starting to make me self-conscious.

I retied my hair into a ponytail and got to work on a rough sketch of Boss-Man's face. When I finished, I held it away from my face to judge my own work. It certainly wasn't my best work, but he was recognizable.

"This is the one with the gun." I explained to Sam when I handed him the drawing. I chewed on the end of my pencil- a nervous habit.

"Thank you Skylar. We'll find your friend; don't worry." He said with a stiff nod.

I realized that there wasn't much I could do as of now, so I just focused on getting myself cleaned up. "Emily? Do you know where I can get new clothes?" I asked her, picking at the almost-rags hanging off my body.

"Sure. I'm sure Leah has something you can borrow." She said, gesturing for me to follow her upstairs. She handed me some clean clothes and left me alone to change. I'm glad that this Leah person had a similar taste to mine- the clothes I was handed were just gym shorts and a t-shirt that hung off one of my shoulders. I noticed that my cuts were starting to bleed through the wrappings, but I ignored it.

I went back down the stairs and I heard another murmured conversation. I felt a little worse about eavesdropping on Sam and Emily this time, because I didn't have the excuse that I was making sure they weren't kidnappers, but I just couldn't help myself.

"I swear to you, this is the strongest imprint I've ever seen Em."

"I didn't know it could be any stronger."

"Neither did I, until I saw it in his mind."

"Maybe it's because of Bella. He was depressed because of her for so long… this was just a complete one-eighty for him. It probably came as more of a shock."

"That's what I was thinking too." Their conversation made no sense to me, so there was no point in listening any longer.

"Thank you for the clothes Emily. And tell, um, Leah I said thanks as well." I said as I walked back into the room.

"Hey Skylar!" Embry said, walking through the front door. "A couple of us were going for a drive, you want to come?" He offered.

"That depends on the car. And on who's driving." I have very high standards when it comes to cars. There's a shop back in Seattle that I go to about once a week to do work on my Jag. Or just to tinker around with some of the cars they have there. I've had some good times in that place.

When I went abroad for a year in Italy, I got really into street racing. I was damn good at it too, but when I started winning people started getting angry, so I dropped it. "You like cars?"

"I have three brothers- of course I like cars." I said, giving him a look.

He and Emily exchanged a sly smile. I'm pretty sure I wasn't meant to see it. I heard him murmur something to her about Jacob, but it was too low for me to hear. Jacob was becoming more and more of an enigma.

"Come on Sky. Get ready for your official tour of La Push." He announced, dragging me out the door by my arm. At the end of the driveway was a VW Rabbit. And not even a new one. I really hope they weren't expecting me to be seen in public with that thing. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

Yet Embry walked up to it without a care in the world, opening the passenger door for me and gesturing for me to get inside. "What the hell is this?" I voiced my thoughts.

"This is Jake's car." Embry said with a smile.

"Well tell 'Jake' that his car is a piece of shit." I said, turning around to go back into the house and help Emily. Jacob was standing behind me, having heard every word I said. I blushed and he had a small smirk on his face.

"My car is a classic." He stated.

I rolled my eyes. "I know what your car is. It's a 1974 VW Rabbit- an Mk1. Classics are nice to look at and talk about, but you would see me driving a horse and buggy down the road before you see me in that car. No offense."

Embry interrupted Jacob before he could say anything. "Ah, but have you seen the engine yet?"

"No," I looked at him doubtfully, striding over to the hood of the car, not expecting to be impressed. When I flipped it open and bent over the car, I could feel my mouth drop open.

The engine inside this car was a thing of legends. Someone has spent countless hours working on it, that much I could tell. What it was doing in a Rabbit though is beyond me. This engine belongs in a Corvette or maybe a Maserati. Definitely not this piece of glorified scrap metal. "Ho-ly-crap," I muttered, annunciating each syllable.

I looked at Jacob, who was scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Did you do this?" I asked, disbelief obvious in my voice.

"I had some help." He said.

Embry laughed. "He's just being modest. It was all him."

"Jesus dude. What does this thing do? Zero-to-sixty in three-point-seven. Have you ever raced it?" They both gave me weird looks and I remembered what Jared said about them being authorities.

Oh, shit. Did I just admit to illegal street racing to authorities? Subject-changing time. "Are we going to drive somewhere, or are we just going to stand here?"

"Oh, so now you like the car?" Embry said sarcastically, getting in the back while I climbed in the passenger seat and Jacob took the wheel.

"No, I like the engine. The car is still horrid. At least let me give it a paint job or something." I teased.

"Okay!" Jacob said, his eyes lighting up. "I'll pay you!" He offered.

I shrugged. "Your friend Seth saved my life. I'll give you guys all free paint jobs and it won't even begin to cover it." Jacob's driving was really annoying. He drove at a snail's pace. You would think that someone who builds an engine capable of going awesome speeds would actually use said engine.

After a few more minutes I couldn't take it. "God! Stop the car." I said, exasperated.

"What? What's wrong?" Jacob asked, worried.

"You drive like my grandmother, that's what's wrong. Give me the keys." He looked surprised, but complied. Good boy.

"Where are we going?" I asked, sitting down in the driver's seat.

"First Beach, it's down this way and a left." Embry said from the back in an amused voice.

Instead of a response, I just gunned the engine and it roared appreciatively, leaving a cloud of dust in our wake. I checked the speedometer and grinned- I pushed the needle up to 80 in under seven seconds. Hell. Yeah.

"Can this car drift?" I yelled over the sound of the engine as we neared the left turn.

Jacob's eyes were like saucers and he was clutching the seat of the car like it was his lifeline. "I don't know!" He yelled back.

"Well we're going to find out!" I said, jerking the wheel completely to the right and slamming on the breaks, causing it to glide left down the street. The car ripped past the turn and skidded to a stop in a glorious blur of dirt and gravel.

I released a breath and checked the backseat to make sure Embry was still alive. He was sprawled out on the back, a mess of tangled arms and legs. Looks like someone forgot a seatbelt. "You okay back there?" I asked.

"Where in the hell did you learn that?" He said in one breath.

"Street racing in Florence." I replied with a small smile, shifting back into drive and going (normal speed this time) in the direction of the beach, leaving the smell of burning rubber behind. Jacob may need new tires.

"That may have possibly been the coolest thing I've ever witnessed." Embry said in a tone of awe and approval. "And I've witnessed some pretty cool shit."

"Why thank you Embry. I do try." I said without even a trace of sarcasm. I pulled up to the beach and handed Jacob back the keys, but before I could get out of the car, he was on the driver's side and had opened the door for me. What a gentleman.

First Beach shouldn't count as a beach. That was my first impression of it. When I think beach, I think palm trees, warm weather and blue waters. First Beach is cold, sandy, and grey. "So what exactly are we going to do on this tour you guys?" I was really just addressing Embry, but I felt bad for Jacob because we were kind of leaving him out. It's not my fault the guy isn't talkative.

Embry didn't seem to be listening though. He was calling out to a similar looking cult of shirtless men. How many attractive shirtless males did La Push have? "I'm going to talk to the pack. Jacob can show you around Skylar." He said, winking in Jacob's direction before running to meet up with the 'pack'. So much for my tour.

"So…" I started off awkwardly, walking down the beach. "Where did you learn cars?" At least that was something we had in common. That's a possible conversation topic.

"My garage." He stated simply. How utterly insightful- I never would have guessed. There was a few more seconds of awkward silence.

"It's your turn now." I told him.

"My turn to what?" He asked, sounding eager to please.

"To diffuse the awkwardness. I tried once with a comment on cars. Now it's your turn." I said smugly.

He laughed. It was a great sound, the first time I've heard it since he showed up. "What's your favorite color?"

"Blue."

He smiled. "The color of your eyes."

I waved my hand dismissively. "Ugh, no. I like dark blue. My eyes are dumb. I wish I had dark blackish eyes, like you." My mind didn't even register the fact that we both knew the color of one another's eyes already.

He frowned at me. "But your eyes are so… so…" He looked like he really wanted to say something, but he just sighed, and finally resigned to muttering "I like your eyes." under his breath.

"The grass is always greener on the other side, eh?" I said with a smile. I sat down on a piece of driftwood and patted the seat beside me.

He smiled again and sat down. He began twiddling with his fingers. "Your turn."

I bit my lip, unsure of whether or not my question would be intruding. I decided to risk it. "Everybody, was welcoming you back this morning- where did you go?"

He let out a breath and looked into my eyes. It was a few seconds before he answered. "I took some time off. Traveled."

I nodded. "I did the same thing. I spent most of my time in Italy. It was about two, two-and-a-half years ago though."

He smirked. "And you learned illegal street racing and how to drift?"

I smirked back. "Among other things."

I talked to Jacob for a little while longer, and was surprised how easy it was to talk to him once we got the conversation going. In fact, I wasn't aware of how much time had passed until Embry came back and announced that my tour was over.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, thanks Embry. You were a real big help."

"My pleasure." He said with a grin.

I tried to make a grab for the keys again, but Jacob had pulled them out of my reach before I could get to them. "Sorry. I like you and everything, but you're never driving my car again." He said with a grin.

I smiled smugly at him. "If you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen Jacob." I said before getting in the car.

It was three o'clock when we got back, but Emily was already getting things out for dinner. That poor woman. "Hi Emily!" I said to her when we walked back in.

"Hi Sky! How was your tour?" She asked.

"My tour was uneventful. The car ride there was fun though." I said with a sly glance to Jacob, who laughed. Both Emily and Embry looked shocked by the sound, but they soon composed themselves with a small smile.

Sam walked into the kitchen and kissed Emily- first on her lips, then on her scars. It was really sweet. He said something to the boys that I didn't catch, and they both walked out of the room, sulking. "Do you want to go out to dinner tonight?" He asked, turning back to her.

She smiled at him. "I would love to Sam, but I have to cook dinner for the boys." She sounded disappointed.

I frowned at her. She should not be turning down a date to cook dinner for a bunch of overgrown gorillas. "Oh my goodness Emily. I can cook dinner for them, don't worry about it." It was so unfair to her. I think I can manage their appetites for one night. Claire came into the kitchen and pulled on the hem of my shirt until I picked her up.

"Are you sure?" She asked, hesitant.

"Absolutely. Claire and I have it covered here." I said, taking the spoon and cookbook out of Emily's hands.

"Oh, thank you so much Skylar!" She brightened up and kissed Sam. "I'll go get ready!" I get the impression that she doesn't get out a lot.

"That was nice of you. I can help too." Said a girl standing in the doorway. She looked to be about my age. "I'm Kim, Jared's girlfriend."

"Cool. What do you want for dinner Claire? I'll let you choose." I said to the small girl I was holding.

"Pizza!" She said, grinning at me. Her smile was missing a few teeth.

"Fun stuff. Can you hold her for a second? I'm going to get out the ingredients." I told Kim, passing her Claire.

I dug around in the fridge, pulling out some dough, pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings. "How much do these boys eat, on average?" I asked Kim.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Cook for an army." She said.

"I can do that." I replied with a smile. My mother died when I was seven, and my dad spent three years trying (and failing) to cook dinner for us every night. At age 10, I kicked him out and took up the responsibility myself. I'm not great at it, but I manage. When I decided to go vegetarian at age 15, Dad and Alex (both Brian and Tom had moved out by then) had to live without eating meat in their dinners. They were not appreciative.

We decided that each boy would probably eat their own pizza, and then Kim, Claire and I would split one. That made 10 pizzas total, and we were just pulling them out of the oven when they herded into Emily's house. Claire squealed and ran to Quil while Kim went to go kiss Jared.

"Everybody take a piece!" I said, taking my spinach and mushroom. By the time I had made my way to the dining room, everyone had already sat down, leaving the only open seat as the one between Paul and Jacob. Something about the vibe I was getting from the room made me think it was planned.

I sat down and started to eat, but before I could take a bite, Paul had started speaking. "Skylar, there's grass on your pizza."He informed me.

"It's not grass _Paul_." I said his name like an insult. "It's spinach."

"You're the new girl everyone's talking about?" A woman that I haven't met before asked.

I shrugged. "I guess so."

Her eyes flickered over me critically. "Are those my clothes?"

I raised my eyebrows at her tone. I didn't really want to get in a catfight. "If you're Leah they are."

She smiled tightly, her eyes narrowing. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She said, making it evident that it wasn't a pleasure for her at all. Jacob had finally ripped his gaze away from me to glare at Leah.

"Likewise." I replied, keeping my voice monotone.

"So, Sky." Embry's chipper voice cut through the tension. "What's with the vegetarian thing?"

"I like animals. And I make it a point of not eating my friends."

"So how do you feel about wolves?" He asked, the picture of innocence. Everyone choked on their food like he had asked me my opinion on cannibalism.

"Um… they're pretty cool." I responded, confused by both the strangeness of the question and the room's reaction. "I went to a fundraiser a while ago to raise money to protect their endangered species and all. Why? Do you get a lot of wolves in this area?"

"Oh yes." Seth said, nodding fervently. "But the wolves here are very friendly." Friendly wolves? I gave him a strange look. I'm starting to worry about Seth. Clearly he's on some sort of drug that makes you eternally happy and makes you see things live friendly wolves.

"Okay…" I said, dragging the word out. "So do you know where there's a hotel in town or something?"

"Why?" Jacob asked, the first words he has spoken all meal.

"Well, if you guys are trying to find Kelsey, I'm not leaving town until that happens, and I don't want to impose on Emily any more-"

"First of all, there is no hotel in Forks, or La Push. We kind of take the whole small town thing to a whole new level. Second, you aren't imposing, so get comfy." Jacob said with a grin.

"Okay, but what about my clothes and stuff?" I pointed out. I can't keep wearing Leah's clothes- she clearly doesn't approve of it.

"Jacob can drive you up to your apartment tomorrow, right Jacob?" Kim said.

"I… uh… s-sure." He stuttered. If he doesn't want to go he should just say so. I won't be offended. Okay, maybe a little. What have I ever done to him? I frowned and took another bite of pizza.

After dinner, we all sat in the living room. Quil and Claire were playing some sort of game. Quil would make a great father some day. "Does Claire live here?" I asked him.

He smiled. "Her parents are away on vacation, so she's staying here for two weeks." He stared at her lovingly.

"Let's play princess!" She said, hopping around with excitement. "I'll be Pocahontas."

"I thought Emily was Pocahontas?" I reminded her. "You can be Belle." I offered.

"Right. And Quilly can be Beast." I smirked at Quil and swallowed back a comment about Paul being more fitting to play the part of the Beast.

Claire got up and walked over to Kim. She was taking the princess casting very seriously. "Kim likes to swim so she can be Ariel. And Jared is Prince Eric." The way she said Jared's name suggested that she didn't like him very much.

"What about Leah?" I asked, laying down on the couch. "She can be Snow White because she has to take care of a bunch of men." I said with a laugh, thinking of how appropriate it was. Just change Sneezy to Sleazy and it'll fit Paul to a T. Leah was probably glaring at me right now, but I couldn't care less.

"But who's the Prince, then?" Claire asked me.

"I volunteer Embry." I said, and everyone in the room except Leah, Embry and Claire burst out into laughter. From the look of sheer terror on Embry's face, I could tell that I've gotten him back for ditching me and Jacob at the beach earlier today.

"Sky can be Cinderella." Claire announced.

I groaned. "But Cuh-laire, I hate Cinderella. Can't I be someone else?" I whined.

She pouted. "But you look like Cinderella."

"Cinderella's so boring. Can I be Mulan instead?" I've never been one for waiting for Prince Charming to come along and save me. It he can't get his shit together, I'll do it myself.

Claire wasn't paying my wants much mind, however. "No. You're Cinderella. And Jacob is Prince Charming." She said with finality.

Jacob? Why? I was expecting Seth, considering he had 'found me in the woods' and all- and he acted like he had pulled me from the fiery clutches of hell itself.

"Why Jacob?" I asked the little girl suspiciously. Everyone was snickering quietly, and I'm assuming it's because Jacob's face had turned a few shades darker than normal. He was blushing?

"You're his wolf girl." Claire said in a "duh" voice. This only makes me more confused. Everybody in the room sobered up when she said this.

"Wolf girl?" I clarified.

"Uh… yeah." Quil said quickly, scooping Claire up onto his lap. "It's this thing Claire here does. She… uh… assigns everyone in the… um… group… a 'wolf girl'. She's my wolf girl, for example." He's lying. I'm not stupid.

"And I'm Jacob's wolf girl because…?"

Embry chose this point to jump into the conversation. "Probably just because Seth found you the same time he came home." He defended Quil.

Claire yawned and I checked the clock. It was only nine, but it felt much later. "You tired Claire?" Quil asked.

"I wanna go to bed with Sky!" She demanded. Awww… she's so cute.

I smiled and stood up. "Okay. Contrary to popular belief, sleeping in the forest isn't as refreshing as it may sound; I was planning on going to bed soon anyway. You ready Claire?" She squirmed her way out of Quil's lap and grabbed my hand, pulling me along.

"Good night everyone!" I waved. "G'night wolf boy." I mocked Jacob with a wink, much to everyone's amusement. He looked semi-mortified.

Claire took about ten minutes to get ready. She crawled into bed, hugging a grey wolf plushie. What is it with these people and wolves?

Claire cuddled up into my side and I was asleep in five minutes. My dreams were filled with friendly wolves, unfriendly kidnappers and, strangest of all, Jacob Black.

* * *

><p>The alarm clock read seven am when I woke up. Claire was still fast asleep. In truth, I was still tired, but my sleep last night was restless because I was filled with worry for Kelsey. I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. I needed to clear my head.<p>

I got up, careful not to wake up Claire, who was still snuggling with her stuffed animal. It looks like someone (probably Emily) had come in throughout the course of the night to put a fresh change of clothes on the dresser for me. I threw the clothes on carelessly, again thanking Leah for her comfortable choice in clothing. I put on the tennis shoes I had been wearing from our shopping trip in Seattle only two nights ago. It felt like years. The cuts on my arm were beginning to heal, but the wrappings were pretty bloody, so I changed them in the bathroom before I left.

I walked quietly out the front door and stretched my hamstrings a little while surveying the surrounding area for a good place to jog. The sidewalk was probably the smartest idea, but I didn't want to have to talk to anyone on this run, so I didn't want to bump into any early morning joggers. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts. The woods it is then.

There seemed to be a little bit of a path, so I wasn't concerned about finding my way back. I don't know how long I ran for, but when I stopped I was winded. It wasn't working- I still couldn't get my mind off of the kidnapping. I kept running through all the possibilities of where Kelsey might be in my head. Needless to say, they weren't happy thoughts.

I leaned back against a tree, squeezing my eyes shut in an attempt to force the thoughts out of my head. I remembered Kelsey sometimes liked to try meditation. She's a math freak- one of those really Type-A personality people who stresses out over the smallest things. She does it to prepare for exams. It had something to do with clearing your head and focusing on breathing.

Hey, it can't hurt, right? I sat cross-legged on the forest floor. I tried to keep my breathing deep and even. It worked- the rhythm of my breath controlled my thoughts, and even the sounds of the forest became background noise- the wind in the trees and the cracking of branches. It felt like time had slowed to a crawl. When I opened my eyes it felt like I had woken up from a deep sleep.

Maybe that's why I didn't automatically run when I saw the huge reddish-brown wolf watching me only a few feet away. Maybe it's because I was paralyzed in fear. Maybe it's because I remembered what Seth had said about the wolves here being friendly. Maybe it's because, despite the fact that the wolf was the size of a horse and probably had the teeth of a lion, I couldn't help but feel unexplainably safe.

Either way, something about the wolf gave me the courage to stand up slowly and reach my hand out in front of me. I took a few cautious steps forward until my hand was only a few inches from his unbelievably soft looking fur. He watched me with his large, surprisingly intelligent eyes. When my fingers went to touch him, he lowered his head in one fluid movement. I flinched back instinctively and he whimpered, looking up with what I liked to imagine looked like apology.

I started again hesitantly, finally touching the coppery-colored mane on his head. The wolf made a purring noise. "Amazing." I breathed, petting the scruff around his neck and scratching behind his ears. "Friendly wolves. Maybe that Seth kid isn't on LSD after all." I spoke, disbelief and awe still evident in my tone.

He made a coughing sound in the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like laugher. "Sit." I ordered, not actually expecting him to do anything. The wolf complied however, much to my continued fascination.

"Holy shit, it's trained." I resisted the urge to do a happy dance. I scratched under his chin and it closed its eyes happily. "You need a name buddy." I told him.

"What do you think of Fluffy?" I asked him. He recoiled slightly and adopted the pretense of looking offended.

"No? How about something a little more intimidating then, like Griffin or Killer?" He nodded his head eagerly.

"You know, I don't think you deserve a cool name." I told him. "You need to earn scary names. You should work on the whole 'big bad wolf' thing. Until then, it's Fluffy." I decided.

He looked at me and there was a deep rumbling in his chest that I recognized as growling. I would have been afraid if I hadn't known that it was just to prove a point.

"Oh, please." I scoffed, tapping his nose lightly. "Go blow down a little pig's house." He huffed at me and licked my face.

"_Ugh_, ew." He was really just an oversized puppy. I looked up into the sky and noticed that the sun was significantly higher than it was when I left on my run. I probably needed to be getting back soon. "I got to go Fluffy." I told him, bending down to retie my shoe. He whined and I knew that he didn't want me to leave.

"Sorry. See you around?" I realized then just how crazy I was, asking a wolf if I was going to see him around. "Have fun hunting bunnies… or whatever it is you wolves do." I said with a smile, sprinting back down the path to Emily's house.

I got a few feet from the house and started smelling muffins. It smelt like heaven. "Hi!" I said, coming into the house and waving to Emily, who was bent over the oven.

"Good morning Sky! Did you go for a run?" She asked, pulling the muffins out of the pan and loading them up onto a plate.

"Yup. Can I help?" I asked.

"No, no, I'm fine. You helped enough last night. The boys all really liked your pizza." She said with a smile. The door slammed open and Embry came in and took three muffins off the table. I would have been surprised, but I was used to this eating-machine type behavior from my brothers.

"Hey Sky." He said with his mouth full, grinning at me. "How did you sleep?"

"Not great, but I went on a run this morning." I told him honestly, getting out a water bottle from the fridge and taking a couple big gulps.

"Hi Skylar," Jacob came in with Paul following close behind. Jacob looked like he just won the lottery. I could hear everyone else being noisy and childish outside.

"Hi Jacob." I said with a smile. "Paul." I nodded curtly and acknowledged his presence. He just grunted. Jacob elbowed him and Paul muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Fluffy the lap dog'.

"What did you just say?" I asked Paul.

Jacob jumped in to defend him. "He said, uh, Scruffy. It was my dog that um… died. Paul likes to make fun of me about it."

I narrowed my eyes at Paul. "Congrats dude. You've officially made it to my top ten list of the biggest jerks I know." I informed him. Claire came from downstairs with her stuffed wolf- she clearly just woke up.

Sam came in and kissed Emily while all the boys and Leah rushed to the kitchen to fight over the food. "Don't you have something to give Sky, Jacob?" He reminded Jacob, who was currently staring at me like I had sprouted a halo and matching wings.

"Oh yeah," He exclaimed, pulling something out of his back pocket. It was my necklace- the one that had been tugged off my neck when I ran away into the forest. "We found this- is it yours?" He asked.

"Oh my gosh- yes! Thank you so much Jacob!" I took the necklace from his hand and kissed him on the cheek quickly. All the charms were still there. Jacob looked stunned.

"Where did you find it?" I asked him, bringing him out of whatever la-la-land he had currently confined himself to.

"I-um, on the, um, the street." He stumbled over his words. Embry and Quil both snickered at him.

"You've got some interesting stuff hanging off that necklace." Embry commented.

I smiled at the necklace. "Yeah, it's a long story."

"Story?" Claire's head perked up. "I like stories. Can you tell me?" She asked sweetly.

I laughed. "Sure, but you have to eat breakfast first." I told her. She went to go sit on Quil's lap and started eating obediently. I played with my necklace.

"Well, basically, every charm represents someone I care about." I pulled on the diamond ring. "This was my mother's engagement ring. That's pretty self-explanatory."

I fingered the dog tag lightly. "This is Tom's dog tag. He gave it to me when he went on his first tour to Afghanistan. I was twelve, and inconsolable for days beforehand. I wouldn't talk to him- or anyone for that matter. Right before he got on the plane, he took off one of his dog tags and gave it to me."

I noticed that not only Claire now, but the entire kitchen was listening to my story. "This one is from Brian." I said, holding the little silver ballet shoe. "I was six and it was my first ballet recital. Brian was twelve; I was told that he saved up his allowance for months just to buy it for me."

"Next is the friendship heart Kelsey and I have." It was one of those silver half-heart things, where one person has one half and the other person has the other. I'm pretty sure Kelsey still has hers somewhere.

"This is Alex." I said with a roll of my eyes, separating the rusty old nut from the other charms. "It was from my first car- a Volkswagen Bug. The car was a hand-me-down from Alex and he helped me fix it up. When it died I was really upset. So Alex went into the ignition and took his screwdriver to it, giving me a charm in remembrance."

"And last but not least, we have my Dad's charm." It was a pin from Navy that all the students got when they graduated. "I really wanted one of these pins when I was younger. One year at Christmas one of the pins went _mysteriously_ missing from the administration office and ended up wrapped under the Christmas tree with my name on it." I explained with a small smirk on my face from the memory.

I twirled the chain around my fingers as I examined all the charms. "What about that one?" Claire asked, pointing to the silver cross charm I had neglected to mention, in hope it would be ignored. I had been meaning to remove that charm for a while now, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

"That was…" I hesitated, trying to find the appropriate words. "It was someone I used to care about." There was a pause. I would be stupid if I didn't think they were going to have questions.

"What happened?" Embry asked.

I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "He… chose someone else." I had to tell myself that. The alternative was too much to bear. He can't be dead.

"What was his name?" Sympathy from Leah, of all people. Jacob too, from the look he was giving me. That didn't surprise me as much- buy I got the impression that I wasn't exactly Leah's favorite person.

There was no point in lying to them, but the name burned like acid on my tongue every time I said it. "Edward Cullen."

And the room erupted into growls. Guess I said the magic word.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well? Did I surprise you, or did you see it coming the second I said Italy? I know it's confusing right now, but I promise everything will be explained next chapter. Please please please review!**


	3. a baseball bat

**Chapter 3- A baseball bat**

_Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. –__**A Series of Unfortunate Events (The Slippery Slope)**_

* * *

><p>"Cullen! You dated <em>Cullen?<em>"

"_Fuck_; she screwed the leech." I was at a loss for words due to the pure rage everyone in the room was currently emanating. A few people looked so angry they were even shaking.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times before words actually came out. "You… you know him? He's alive?" I stammered, getting up from my chair.

"Define _alive_." Paul snarled.

"Where- where is he?" I choked out.

"Down the fucking street, unfortunately." Quil grumbled.

I was semi-frantic. How long had I looked for him- only to find him in some small town a few hours away from Seattle? How long had I looked? This thought brought back the fury that I felt for him. He isn't dead. He isn't dead- yet. But he will be when I'm finished with him. "You need to take me to him." I growled, walking to the door.

No one followed. "You aren't going there." Jacob's voice was flat. Everyone was silent. I was taken aback by his curt manner.

"You can't tell me what to do. I'll get there with or without your help." I replied coldly. There was a nice looking metal baseball bat resting by the door, calling to me. How positively convenient. As far as I'm concerned, it has Edward's name written all over it.

"No one's going to give you the keys." He told me.

"I haven't needed keys to start a car since I was _fifteen!_" I retorted a little louder than I intended, twirling the bat in my hand like a baton.

I walked outside to the driveway and felt the presence of someone behind me. I wasn't surprised by that, but I was surprised by who it was. Leah.

"I'm coming." She informed me in a tone that merited no discussion.

I nodded and got to the front seat, making work on beginning to hotwire the Rabbit. The whole lot of them can come for all I care, just so long as they don't give me any grief for doing what I need to do. Leah opened the passenger door and moved to get in. Jacob, however, had other ideas. He materialized at her side as if from nowhere, slamming the door closed the second her hand pulled on the handle.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." He growled at her, his anger unchecked. The back window was open and his voice and words that I wasn't supposed to hear floated to my ears anyway. "I _get it_ Leah. You don't like my imprint. Whatever. But are you really so stupid and _jealous_ about this that you're going to let her walk into a house full of _leeches?_"

At the word jealous, Leah became equally as impassioned. "You think I'm that much of a jackass? Despite what you might believe; I don't hate your imprint. In fact, my respect for her has grown considerably now that I know she can relate to what I've been through- what _we've_ been through. So don't give me that shit. This isn't about you Jacob. Get over yourself." They had an intense looking stare-off for a few seconds before the car roared to life due to my handiwork.

I rolled down the window. "You coming or not?" I asked Leah, avoiding all eye contact with Jacob. Without another word to him, she slipped into the car and I sped away. Somewhere in the back of my mind, the rational part of my brain was screaming at me. These people saved my life and how was I repaying them? By yelling at them and stealing their car?

Logic was beyond me at this point, however. I was too far gone in a purely Edward-induced rage. "It's about a twenty minute ride." She said. I've never been a particularly patient person, but twenty minutes seemed like a lifetime to me right now.

"So, what happened to you?" I tried to distract myself with chatter. Clearly, she had experienced rejection. Though I doubt she had been through anything like the relationship Edward and I had. Leah understood my meaning.

"I dated him for over two years and then he dumped me… for my cousin. They're getting married now." She said disdainfully.

I whistled slowly. "Sounds like a douche. Who was he?"

She sneered. "You met him actually. Sam."

My eyebrows rose in shock. I didn't really have much love for Sam, but I wouldn't have pegged him as the type. And _definitely _not Emily. "Christ."

"And I'm going to be a _bridesmaid._" She said scornfully. "What happened between you and the leech?" She asked.

"You mean Cullen?" I asked, refusing to say his first name. She shrugged as if it was universally understood that the words were synonymous. "Well, if you stick around for the show; you'll find out." I told her, casting the baseball bat a longing glance.

Twenty minutes seemed too long. The irony of the situation was that I have waited _much longer_ for Edward in the past. Maybe I was done with waiting. I don't know.

Two years. That was how long ago it was that I went to Italy. I told everyone that I wanted to travel for a while before I went off to college. The truth was that I was running. From the past, from the present, and from what could have been my future. But that's another story.

Three hours. That's how long I waited before Edward spoke. It was my first week in Italy; I went for a walk in the forest. I stopped by a lake- there was a boy there. His eyes were black; he had almost a rabid look to him. But the way he carried himself… I could tell there was a sadness there. He was in a dark place- just like me. We just sat there for a few hours, not acknowledging the other's presence. Finally, he broke the silence- just a word, his name. Edward.

Two weeks. That's how long I knew Edward before I found out that he had no place to stay. We didn't talk much, but we seemed to learn more about each other in our silence than we did in our speech. I don't know how it was for him, but his company gave me a calm feeling. So I offered him the spare bedroom in the apartment I was renting. He accepted.

Five days. That's how long Edward had been living in my apartment until I caught him watching me sleep. Just sitting there in the chair beside my bed, watching me. When I asked him what he was doing, he just replied brokenly "You don't talk in your sleep", hung his head, and left the room.

One month. That's how long Edward had lived with me until I discovered he played the piano. On a whim, I had bought a piano with my street racing money. I hadn't told Edward, and when it was delivered two weeks later, I had completely forgotten about it. Miraculously, he played as well. We had something to talk about now. We stayed up until three in the morning that night playing.

Three months. How long it took me to muster up the courage to ask him his story. I believe my exact words were: "Why are you here?" He knew what I meant- why he was the way he was, what made him so sad all the time. The only answer I ever got was "Bella." I never asked again. Did it really matter?

Four months. When I found out Edward owned an Aston Martin. I was ecstatic, and it took some convincing, but he let me race it. When I won, he was very impressed. We had something else in common now- cars.

Six months. How long I knew Edward on that day he came back with the charm. It was a small silver cross that looked very Italian. He told me he found it in the forest. I thanked him and put it on my necklace. He smiled. In the eight months that I had known Edward, I saw him smile five times. Once, I made him laugh.

Two months. How long I waited in Italy after Edward disappeared. I had come back to my flat one night and he was gone- there was no evidence that he had been there other than my phone that looked like it had been crushed into a thousand pieces. At first I wasn't all that concerned- Edward would leave for a few days and then show up again out of nowhere like he'd never been gone, and he never gave me any explanation. If he had ever actually slept, ate, or even showered in that apartment it would have been news to me. I was only supposed to stay in Italy for five months. I ended up staying for about ten- eight with Edward, two trying to convince myself he was coming back.

That's how Kelsey found me when she came to visit- in a state of depression obsessing over finding Edward. After I left Italy, I had pretty much given up on the human race in general- Kelsey and my family being the exceptions. You never would be able to tell from my behavior though- I hid that shit deep. So I went off to college in Seattle like the good girl everyone expected me to be. I even got a boyfriend- Mark. Our relationship was mostly physical though, which was only proven by the fact that he refused to stand up for me at the kidnapping.

I thought about Edward a lot. Was I in love with him? No, definitely not. Could I have been, if he had stayed? I don't know, maybe. Or maybe I would have just ended up mistaking love for desperation. Either way, it was irrelevant now. Now, he was just some stupid jerk that left me in the middle of Italy without so much as a "Fuck you".

Leah directed me through the twists and turns of the forest road until we pulled up to a semi-isolated house a while up a dirt road. Did I say house? I meant mansion. Lots of windows- probably full of stainless steel on the inside, one of those kind of mansions. Like the ones you see on the covers of architectural magazines. What was I expecting? This _was_ Edward fucking Cullen after all.

I parked the car on the side of the road and grabbed my baseball bat. I almost died of a heart attack when I saw the silver Aston Martin in the driveway. So he really was here. This shit was really happening. The sight of the car only fueled my anger more. I walked up to the front of the house and practically punched the doorbell. I was vaguely aware of Leah coming to stand next to me.

"I didn't see anyone coming." I heard from behind the door in a musical voice. It was feminine, but it reminded me a bit of Edward's in the way that it sounded like he was perpetually singing.

"It must be Seth." The door was thrown open and behind it was revealed a small pixie-like girl. Her pale skin and beauty mirrored Edward's almost exactly. Gag me.

"Hi," I said in a deceptively sweet voice. "Is Edward home?" The pixie looked confused, but she didn't need to respond, because he had already seen me from the top of the stairs.

"Skylar?" He asked. He looked like he had seen a ghost. He doesn't look any different from how he looked two years ago. Just that his eyes were lighter and he looked generally… happier.

"Hey Eddie." I said as he descended the stairs. "Surprised to see me?" I kept up with the fake sweet tone. Our reunion had gained an audience- five more Edward-replicas emerged from other parts of the house.

"Sky… you're… you're alive?" Fucker stole my line. _He _left _me_ and then has the nerve to act like I'm the one who dropped off the face of the earth?

"No, I'm the ghost of Christmas past." I said, laying the sarcasm on thick.

"Edward… she's very angry…" A light-haired man standing next to the pixie said.

"No shit Sherlock." I spat at him. I'm pretty sure anyone and everyone could tell I wasn't exactly a happy camper right now.

"Skylar… I…" Oh man. Edward Cullen at a loss for words. I feel like I should be videotaping this.

"I'm going to give you two minutes to explain yourself Edward. Starting now." I growled.

"Edward? What's going on, Renesmee is trying to sleep." Yet another beautiful pale woman came down from the staircase. She put her hand on his shoulder and I caught sight of the large diamond rock on her left hand. My eyes traced the line to Edward's matching one. Fuck.

I'm pretty sure there was steam coming out of my ears. "You got _married_ and didn't invite me?" I hissed.

"I went back to Italy, I looked for you, you weren't there. I'm sorry." He said calmly. I didn't come here for his apologies.

"Sorry isn't good enough Goddamnit!" I yelled, and everyone in the room cringed. I used to be a cheerleader in high school- I can reach pretty high decibels.

Edward was still freakishly calm, despite the situation. We had somehow managed to all make it outside- his family standing behind him and Leah standing behind me. I'm sure we looked like some sort of mobster showdown. "What do you want me to say?" He held out his hands helplessly.

I want to hate him. I want him to yell at me so I can yell back. I deserve five good minutes of getting this pent up rage out of my system. "I want you to tell me _why_." I growled dangerously at him, daring him to lie to me.

"I… I thought Bella was dead." His wife put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. So this was the infamous Bella. I was still angry, but now confused as well.

"That doesn't explain anything dipshit. Why did you _leave_?" I enunciated in an attempt to get it through his thick skull.

He looked like he was choosing his words very carefully as not to upset me. It's a little late for that, in case you haven't noticed. "I was going to kill myself."

I couldn't help it- my guise faltered. Suicide? Even after all the shit I've been through in my life, suicide has never occurred to me. It was a foreign concept. "Why didn't you _tell_ me?" My voice was still accusing, not leaving much room for sympathy.

"What could I have said Sky? What could I have told you that would have made it okay?"

He really is thick. Doesn't he get it? It wouldn't have mattered _what_ was said, just that there were words exchanged at all. "You could have talked to me Edward! At the very least, it's called a suicide note!" I yelled.

He was glancing nervously between Bella and me. He looked extremely guilty. "I couldn't do that to you. I- I thought… a clean break would be… better." His shoulders sagged at the last words.

"You've made that mistake before." Jacob's solemn voice came from the direction of the woods and everyone's head snapped towards it. Hi was striding over to the scene gracefully- shirtless as usual. I'm seriously starting to wonder if any of the La Push boys even own shirts.

"Jacob?" Bella asked. How does _she_ know Jacob? I'm missing pieces to this puzzle, and I really don't enjoy being out of the loop. "What are you doing here?" She breathed.

He didn't have a chance to answer, because there was an animalistic growling sound coming from Edward. I'm glad I got some sort of emotion that wasn't Zen or guilt from Edward, though I'm not entirely sure what I did. "You didn't." He spat at Jacob.

Wait. He was mad at _Jacob_? What the fuck? I've been yelling at him for the past ten minutes and I get _nothing_- not even a lousy eye twitch. Jacob just walks up to him and now he's acting like a hungry pit bull. Totally not fair.

"You don't deserve her you _dog_." He advanced slowly, using the same tone. Jacob didn't back down in the slightest.

"And what? You do? Tell your husband to stay out of my head, Bella." Jacob was shaking again.

"What's going on Jake? Edward?" Bella's tone wasn't questioning or confused so much as it was demanding. It was the same tone moms used with misbehaving toddlers. Jacob and Edward were almost chest to chest now, snarls and other sounds ripping violently out of their throats.

"Edward!" This snapped him out of it. He took a few steps back, and they began whispering words to each other that I did not catch. I took this opportunity to check on Jacob.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, touching his muscled arm that was still vibrating. When I touched him, all shaking stopped.

"I'm fine." He said, closing his eyes, his voice hoarse.

Bella and Edward seemed to have ended their little conference. "Okay Jake. Your thoughts are safe now." She said, giving him a little nod. Whatever the fuck that means.

"Right…"I dragged out, rolling my eyes. "As entertaining as this little freak show is, I have work to do." I said, striding over to the driveway where the Aston Martin sat, awaiting its fate.

The pixie gave a gasp, covering her hand with her mouth and tittering like a giddy schoolgirl. Edward shot her a horrified look.

"Yours?" I clarified, pointing at the doomed vehicle with my silver bat.

"Like you don't already know." Edward said begrudgingly. He's right. I always have liked this car. It's a fucking shame, what I'm about to do.

I brought the bat down onto the window shield, effectively smashing it into a thousand little pieces that showered all over the leather seats. Everyone either cringed, smirked, or gasped. The smirking was coming mainly from the La Push members of the audience.

I did the same thing to two of the windows and both of the headlights. It was like my own little masterpiece. After I was done, I walked back to Leah and Jacob, sat the bat down on the ground, and folded my arms across my chest. "You deserved that." I informed him.

"Are you finished?" He asked, still calm. Too damn calm! I was going to get a rise out of him if it was the last thing I do.

"God Edward! You're such a… such a…" I struggled to find an insult strong enough to convey my discontent. I decided with a word that I had heard Leah and the others use to describe him. It seemed oddly fitting. "_Leech._"

His eyes lit up. "What did you just call me?" He hissed. Finally! Anger! He turned on Jacob again. "You _told_ her?"

_What?_ How? Just… how? How is he angry at Jacob again? I don't even… ugh. "Of course I didn-" Jacob paused. "You mean she doesn't know?"

Edward snarled. "_No_ she doesn't know." Know what? Were they talking about me? God! This was so frustrating.

"Well I didn't tell her. And even if I did, it would be my right." Jacob defended.

This did not placate Edward. "She's been through enough without having to deal with all this."

That's it. I'm done.

"Boys!" I yelled, stopping their discussion. "_First_, don't talk about me like I'm not here." I said before turning to Edward. "_Second_, you don't know half the shit I've been through, so don't pretend you do." I then turned to Jacob. "_Third_, I don't know why you're here, or how you even _got_ here, but you can find your own way home. Come on Leah." I said, taking my baseball bat and walking away.

As far as I'm concerned, I've done my job. I've said what I've wanted to say, smashed what I've needed to smash, and gotten the questions I've needed answered.

"Isn't that your car, Jake?" I heard Bella ask from behind me. I smirked.

"Not any more, apparently." He grunted. Damn straight, kid.

"What just happened, Edward?" The pixie asked as Leah and I got in the car. I didn't wait around for his response- Edward had a lot of explaining to do to his family, I'm sure.

I wonder if Jacob will stay around to hear it? Nah, probably not. I have a feeling that this little standoff between the two of them was less the product of Jacob caring about my welfare and more the product of a built up animosity. The tension was basically rolling off of them in waves.

"Well that was fun." Leah's voice brought me out of my musings.

I snorted. "Which part- when I stole Jacob's car, when I screamed profanities at Cullen, or when I trashed his sports car?" I specified.

She grinned. "All of it. Though I admit the last part was my favorite."

A thought occurred to me. "Do you want to go get drinks? I don't really feel like going back to Emily's and being bombarded with questions…"

She seemed to consider it for a moment before sighing and looking genuinely disappointed. "I would, but Jacob would be pissed."

That sentence didn't make sense to me within the context of the conversation. Why would Jacob be pissed if I went out drinking with Leah? My mind could come up with only one logical conclusion. "Is he your boyfriend or something?"

Leah looked disgusted. "Ugh, God no."

I shrugged.

"How old did you say you were again?" She asked, probably trying to gauge if I was the legal drinking age.

I grinned. "Just because I'm not twenty one yet doesn't mean I don't know how to hold my liquor."

Leah leaned back and put her feet up on the dashboard. "You know, I didn't think I was going to like you, but you aren't all that bad." I have the feeling this was the closest she ever gets to giving a compliment.

"Ah, thanks?" I asked, cocking my head to the side while still keeping my eyes on the road. "You aren't that bad either." I conceded.

I expected to feel some sort of closure after my fight with Edward. Maybe not immediate gratification, but right now, it wasn't looking hopeful. I had more questions than answers- and Leah didn't seem like the type who was going to be patient enough to answer them for me. I decided to try anyway.

"What was Jacob's beef with Edward? They seemed to know each other pretty well." I asked.

Leah sighed like she wasn't especially eager to tell me. Which was what I was expecting. "He used to date Bella."

What's so great about Bella that everyone's so hung up on all the time? "Really? I didn't get that vibe at all. He barely even looked at her." I said, which was true. The only person he looked in the eye was Edward.

"Yeah, he got over her. Pretty suddenly, actually." Leah smirked like there was some sort of ironic inside joke I was missing out on.

By the time we pulled back into Emily's driveway, the only people left in the house were Emily, Claire and Embry. "Oh, thank goodness." Emily said when Leah and I walked through the front door, pulling us both into a bone crushing hug. She drew back and her brow furrowed in confusion. "Where's Jacob?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. I told the party crasher he could walk home."

Embry choked on his water and beat his chest a few times. "You mean he actually showed up? At the _Cullen's_?" He asked, sounding shocked.

"Um, yeah?"

"Was Bella there?" Emily questioned, horrified.

"Yeah, but he was a little too busy getting all up in Edward's face to pay much attention to her." They both blinked in apparent astonishment for a few seconds while Leah shot them a knowing look. Suddenly, Embry's face broke out into a splitting grin.

"Did he get a few good swipes in?"

I laughed, imagining a fight. "No, but _that_ I would pay money to see."

Emily and Leah both left, leaving Embry and I alone together. "So does this mean you aren't a leech loving freak?" He asked conversationally.

I didn't really understand why they hated Edward so much. They all seemed to be completely disgusted with him. "No, actually. The only emotion I can possibly comprehend sustaining for him at the moment is ire." Embry had a blank look on his face.

"Can you say that again? But like, slower… and with smaller words?" He asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, come on. There has to be a brain _somewhere_ in that large head of yours." I said ruefully, tapping on his forehead with my knuckle.

"Awww, come on Sky!" He whined. "You've got to take some pity on us non-college folk." He teased, grabbing my wrists.

"Well don't you two look cozy." Jacob muttered bitterly as he walked through the front door, giving Embry a withering gaze as if her were doing something wrong.

Embry didn't seem to notice.

"Did you have a nice walk home Jacob?" I asked sweetly.

He seemed to bask in my attention. I imagined if he was a bird, he would be fluffing up his feathers right now. The mental image made me smirk. "It was fine, thank you for asking. Did you have a nice drive in _my_ car?"

"I found it very cathartic." I said, purposely using an SAT-worthy word just to piss Embry off. It worked. He groaned and threw his hands in the air, walking out of the room.

But not, of course, before reminding Jacob that he had to drive me to Seattle today to get my stuff from my apartment. "Take good care of him." Embry added with a suggestive wink, to which I responded with a glare.

"Can I use my keys this time, or are you going to hotwire my car again?" Jacob asked, amused.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on wolf boy." I said, using the nickname that had embarrassed him last night. "Let's get this over with."

This was going to be an interesting ride.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the late update- hope this makes things a little less confusing. Review? Please? I will love you forever!**


	4. a pair of point shoes

**Chapter 4- a pair of point shoes**

_Well, you know how men are. They think 'No' means 'Yes' and 'Get lost' means 'Take me, I'm yours.' -__**Hercules**_

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><p>"Wow, I almost didn't recognize you with a shirt on." I teased Jacob who was walking back outside to the driveway. It had occurred to him before we got in the car that, oh yeah, normal people wear <em>clothes<em> when going out in public. What a novel concept, I know. Although, I have to admit… that boy has some really nice ab muscles.

"You're hilarious." He dead panned, opening the passenger door for me.

The drive to Seattle was three and a half hours. Four, if Jacob insisted on driving like an elderly person.

"What are we listening to?" I finally asked, referring to the bubble gum pop that was playing on the radio. Seriously, if I had to hear it much longer my ears may just start to bleed.

"What? I thought girls like this kind of music."

I snorted. "Not the girls I know." I think automatically of Kelsey. The meek, quiet math geek… with a secret love for rap music. She raps along with Lil' Wayne whenever he comes on the radio- it's very entertaining. Personally, I like classic rock. I suppose that's a result of Dad drilling into my head from a young age that ACDC and Journey are the two greatest things on this earth other than air.

"Pick a radio station you like." He offered, sounding genuinely curious as to what I will choose. I fiddled around with the knob a bit until I hear a song by The Police come on.

"So Jacob," I started, putting my feet up on the dashboard. "Care to tell me how you know the Cullens?" Did he really think we were going to sit in this car for three hours and _not _talk about this? I hope not, because I plan on using this drive to get answers.

"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"Yeah, well… great minds think alike I guess." I muttered. He was quiet, and I realized he was waiting for me to tell my side of the story before he talked. I had the urge to say something childish about how I asked him first, but I thought better of it.

"Theoretically, I don't know _all_ the Cullens-just the one. You seem to have the pleasure of being acquainted with all of them." I rationalized.

He sighed at my attempted joke, but didn't talk. I was not giving up quite that easily. "I heard Bella was the love of your life." Technically, Leah didn't exactly say that… but close enough.

"What?" Jacob was flustered. "No! Who- who said that?"

Hm… to throw Leah under the bus or not to throw Leah under the bus- that is the question. Well, better not, since our newfound friendship seems fragile enough as it is. "Embry."

Jacob grumbled under his breath. It kind of sounded like "Gonna kill him later." There was another long pause and I could tell I was going to have to drag the information I wanted out of him. Friggin' boys. Hate them.

"How about this- I tell you my side of the story if you tell me yours." I offered.

He sighed in concession. "Yeah, I used to… date her. Sort of. Basically, she was dating Edward, then he left, then I fell in love with her, he came back and the shit hit the fan. For me, at least."

I couldn't help but laugh at her elegant choice of words. "So, you still love her, or whatever?"

"Who, Bella?" No, Martha Stewart. "Course not!" He said, as if the mere idea was ludicrous. "I mean, not like that anymore. Just as a friend."

I nodded, processing the new information. "How long ago did Edward leave?" I asked, trying to fill in some of the blanks myself.

"A little over two years." Well, the stories matched up at least. What still didn't make sense to me was why Edward was so depressed back then, though. It sounded like he dumped her, not the other way around.

"Well, look at us. Aren't we just the land of misfit toys?" I said with faked enthusiasm.

He snorted.

"Welcome to the Cullen reject club. We're happy to have you as a member." I said, patting his shoulder.

He laughed. "_Please_. I've been president of that club for _years_ now." He didn't seem all that upset about it. "What about you?" His demeanor changed quickly. "What happened between you and the leech?" He sneered the last word, his teeth clenched. I decided I liked happy Jacob much better than mean Jacob. "Did you… date… or something?" It looked like it was physically hurting him to get those words out.

"Edward was my…" What was the right word for our relationship? Boyfriend? No, definitely not. I couldn't see Edward in that way. Friend? Kind of, in a weird twisted form where we both depended on one another for sanity. Mentor? Strangely, this term fit the most… I looked up to him in an odd, role-model type way. I wasn't about to tell Jacob this though. "Roommate. Nothing more."

I realized I still had to hold up my end of the bargain by telling him my story. "Basically, he lived with me in my flat. Then one day, he dropped off the face of the earth and abandoned me in Italy by myself.

Jacob didn't seem to like this very much. "And you haven't heard from him until now?"

"Yup." I said. Jacob nodded and I changed the subject. We listened to music and talked aimlessly for the rest of the ride.

"It's right there. You can pull into the garage, I have a parking space." I directed him to my apartment building.

It wasn't until we reached my door that I realized I had no key with me. I cursed under my breath before turning back to Jacob. "Know how to pick a lock?" I asked him, not wanting to go get a copy of my key from the building manager. Partially because he hits on me every day in the hall, partially because I'm lazy.

Jacob shook his head, much to my disappointment. However, he made up for it with his next words. I could probably break the door down for you, if you want." He was joking, but I was absolutely serious.

"Go for it." I approved, backing a few steps away from the door. He looked surprised for a few seconds before he shrugged, took a step back for momentum, and slammed his shoulder into the door once, forcing it open with a thud. I gaped.

Sure, I knew Jacob had muscle… I mean, that's pretty obvious from the eight-pack that he's constantly flaunting- but breaking down a door with one bump of the shoulder. Color me impressed.

His outstanding show of strength must have stunned me for a few seconds, because the next thing I know, Jacob is grinning at the bewildered expression stuck on my face. "I think… I'm just going to refer to you as the Hulk from now on." I told him.

The apartment was exactly how I left it. "Ah, sorry about the mess, I-" I started, picking up some empty soda cans and moving a couple of Kelsey's Calc books out of the way.

"Don't worry about it, mine's much worse." He interrupted. He was looking at all the photos on the wall. I put down the books to go stand beside him. Most were photos of me and Kelsey- one from where we graduated high school, one standing with both our prom dates. There were a few of me and my brothers, then a couple of Kelsey from her trip to Brazil a year ago.

I blushed deep red when I saw one of the photos on the wall. It was last summer; there was a wet t-shirt contest. Kelsey didn't want to do it, but I made her anyway. Much to her embarrassment, she won.

She plays up the whole "nerd" thing, complete with chunky black rimmed hipster glasses (though they're actually prescription glasses, not just a fashion statement) and a calculator for a brain, but even she can't hide the fact that she's a natural beauty. Her Brazilian bloodline gives her dark brown hair and naturally tan skin, making her look like a Victoria's Secret model.

I kept the picture up just to mortify her. It was just a snapshot of the both of us after the contest-holding the trophy, our white t-shirts still see-through as we stuck our tongues out at the camera. "Is that Kelsey? Your friend?" Jacob asked, pulling me back from the memory that the picture had triggered. He was not looking at any photo in particular, just referring to the wall as a whole.

She was pretty much in all of them anyway- being my roommate and all. "Yeah." My voice came out wistful, sad. Not at all how I normally sound. This did not escape Jacob's notice.

"It's okay Sky. We'll find her, don't worry." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder supporting. He was really warm.

Kelsey's a strong girl. Sometimes people forget that I'm not the only one who grew up at Navy. She lived on the academy as well; we grew up together. Any survival instinct that had been instilled in me from that place had been instilled in her as well. She will survive. I'm sure of it.

"Do you promise? Do you promise to find her?" I demanded from Jacob, realizing that I probably sounded a lot like Claire right now, but I couldn't care less.

He nodded. "I promise. For you." Despite the strange addition of the last sentence, I found myself believing him. Who knows why? Maybe it's because Jacob just has one of those faces you can trust. He can do it for Harry-fucking-Potter for all I care, so long as it gets done.

"I'm going to go pack some stuff." I said, before I could read into it anymore and possibly just confuse myself. When I got into my room, my eyes went automatically to the pair of point shoes dangling off the side of the bed.

Ah, shit. "Jacob, what day is today?" I yelled down the hall.

"Uh… Monday?" His confused and slightly distracted voice replied.

"What time is it?"

"Three-thirty." Yes! I might still be able to make it. I grabbed my point-shoes and ran out the bedroom door, pulling a very confused and worried looking Jacob down the stairs behind me.

"We might get there in time! I just have to break a few motor-vehicle laws- that's all…" I mumbled and rambled incoherently. If Jacob didn't think I belonged in a mental hospital before, then he certainly does now. "Jacob! You need to give me your keys. I need to drive." I told him, holding out my hand expectantly as we rushed down the stairs and into the parking lot.

"Um why? I can drive you anywhere you need to go." He offered, but held the keys out anyway.

"_One_, because I know how to get around Seattle better than you, _two_ because I may or may not be applying some of my street racing skills to get us in there in time." I warned him as we both got in the car and did our seatbelts.

"Where are we going?"

"The dance studio." I explained, pulling out of the garage. The drive was twenty minutes- I made it in seven. New personal record, actually.

"Can I come in with you?" Jacob asked when we parked.

"Sure." I allowed with an indifferent wave of my hand. "You can go in there and sit in the audience if you want, I have to go backstage." I said, directing him to the large double doors at the front of the building before I went around the back door.

"You're late." Were the first words that Matthew, my dance partner said to me as I walked in the door.

"I know, I know." I chanted. "Look, I've had a hell of a few days and am not in the mood to deal with your shit right now. Can you please just drop it?" I said, not bothering to sugar-coat it for him. I ran behind a curtain and started changing frantically, not paying any attention to all the other girls who were doing the same in stalls opposite to me.

Matthew and I had an agree-to-disagree kind of relationship. We had no deep love for each other, and didn't really enjoy spending time in the other's presence, but apparently we had "chemistry" once onstage. He tolerated me; I trusted him not to drop me in a lift.

When I walked back out he was flirting with some of the dances who were going on after us. All girls wore the same thing- spandex and t-shirts.

"Come on. We're on in five and I still need to stretch." I dragged him behind the curtain with me.

"Soryana's going to be_ pissed_." He sang. Soryana was the teacher, the one who we were presenting the dances to today.

"She doesn't have to know I was lat- Wait, you didn't tell her did you?" I asked, aghast. I began to stretch my arms and ham strings and he did the same.

"Well, what was I supposed to do- you were _late_." He stressed.

I threw my arms up in exasperation. "By what- five minutes? It's not like you aren't _always_ late." I reminded him.

"It was _ten_ minutes actually, and that's like a decade for you- you're never late." He argued.

"Shut up. You did it to piss me off and you know it." He just smirked and continued stretching.

The two people in front of us came backstage and wished us good luck- it was our turn. Basically, we were dancing one piece- a contemporary ballet piece. Matthew and I hadn't perfected the piece yet, this was just about getting feedback from the teacher. The real performance was in January, a few months from now. Each person performed three pieces- one individual, one couple, and one final group piece.

I didn't have time to find Jake in the small crowd before the music started. The song was Turning Tables by Adele. It was technically difficult with a lot of hard leaps, and we were still working on it, so it was a bit choppy. After we finished, we both stood center stage breathing heavily. Soryana came up and started talking to us animatedly.

She was a Russian woman in her forties- very enthusiastic and hard to understand. She gave Matthew a few pointers before turning to me.

"And _you_." She said, gripping my shoulders. "I like song, technicality is good, but feeling though, feeling." She paused and shook her head for dramatic effect.

"You need more _feeling_. For example, when you fall into his arms, you need to be _loose_." She said, referring to Matthew. I'll admit; I was somewhat hesitant. Falling into Matt's arms was one thing, falling into a semi-frail looking forty year old woman's arms was something different entirely.

However, I did as I was told, executing the step. She did catch me, thankfully. "Loose! I said loose!" She tugged on my shoulder, pushing it down. I heard Matthew snicker somewhere in the background. "Relax your shoulder. Relax. I won't drop." I relaxed, letting my entire body sag.

"Good, good! Now do that on Matthew." I repeated the move on Matthew, letting my entire body weight fall back into his arms. Poor Matt. "Yes, that is what I want. Now you just do that in performance. And more feeling. We will work more, yes. How much do you weigh?" It was a rhetorical question, but I doubt I could have answered even if I wanted to due to the speed at which she was talking. "Loose five pounds." I fought the urge to roll my eyes. She turned to speak to Matt again.

"Gain five pounds muscle. That is all. Next!" At least that was over with. We walked backstage and let the other people after us go on.

"Shouldn't you be eating a muffin now or something?" Matthew asked before I went to the dressing room to go change. I smirked. He knew my routine.

Every time a teacher told me to lose weight, I would eat something unhealthy. I used to let things like that get to my head. The first time a dance instructor suggested I drop pounds, I was fifteen. Shortly after, I began extreme dieting. It wasn't my brightest moment.

Now, I don't let it faze me. I'm five foot six and I weigh 125 pounds. I don't need to lose weight. "You're right, I suppose I should go eat something. See ya Matt." I said with a wave before exiting out the way I came.

"Bye Kai!" I sighed internally at the nickname. I mean, really, how hard is it to say 'Sky'? Do you really have to shorten it any more?

I walked out the front and almost giggled at the sight before me. Jacob was leaning against the side of his car, seemingly unaware of my presence, while a large group of girls stood, practically swooning behind him. He had a very 'not-a-care-in-the-world' look to him. All you had to do was hand him a leather jacket and he would be James Dean. He was either choosing to ignore, or just not noticing the flock of girls drooling at him from a distance.

"Come on stud. Let's get you outta here before one of them faints." I said, pointing to the girls with my thumb.

"Huh?" He said cluelessly while simultaneously getting into the drivers seat.

I scoffed. "_Please_, you can't tell me you didn't notice them making sex eyes at you. I'm sure you get that a lot." The problem with people as attractive as Jacob is that they _know_ how hot they are.

He just grinned. "I can honestly say I didn't notice them making sex eyes at me. What do 'sex eyes' look like anyway?"

"Like this." I said, giving him an exaggerated version of what the girls back out at the front of the building were doing- complete with fluttering eyelashes and everything. I must have been doing it wrong though, because Jacob just laughed.

"You didn't say you could dance." He accused good-naturedly.

I shrugged. "You didn't ask."

"Either way, you were really good. Don't down play it."

"Thanks." I said, blushing and looking down. I've never been great with compliments. "If you could just stop back at my apartment real quick, I can get my stuff and we can go." I told him.

We pulled into the garage again back in the space he had used before. I was trying to decide whether or not to drive my own car back. On one hand, it would be nice not to have to steal Jacob's car every time I needed to go somewhere. At the same time, however, I don't really want to drive back; I'm very tired. Also, my car is in the shop… there was always the _other_ option though.

When we got out of the car and I got my bags, instead of walking back to the Rabbit, I strode over to the white sheet that mysteriously covered my other vehicle. The sheet's purpose wasn't just to make it a theatrical show every time I went to drive, it was also so that no one stole it.

I pulled the sheet off in a flourish, revealing my impressive black Ducati underneath. I have yet to meet a man who doesn't get the same dumbstruck expression on his face every time he sees it. (Straight men, at least) It has some sort of magical effect on them, I think. This doesn't mean I'm not extremely entertained by this response. Jacob is no exception to this theory.

"Y-yours?" He stuttered, almost looking nervous.

I nodded and petted the seat with affection. Kelsey and I weren't rich by any stretch of the imagination- we were just college kids. Just college kids who spent an amazingly profitable summer in Vegas. Some call it luck, I call it Kelsey being able to count cards. Yeah the math freak thing comes in handy now then. I spent my half of the winnings on my Jag and my Ducati, she invested hers or some shit. "Do you ride?" I asked.

A slow grin spread on his face. "Hell yes." He looked at me, studied me.

"What?" I asked self consciously. He shook his head as if to dissipate a thought or pull him from a trance.

"Nothing, I'm just… I'm just trying to figure you out."

I tilted my head to the side. I think of myself as a fairly open book, easy to read. For most things at least. "How so?"

"I don't know, it's just…" He took a deep breath like he was about to summon up the courage to say something important. "You play with Claire and talk about Disney princesses, but then you also drive like you're from the Fast and the Furious and you own a Ducati. You're different. In a good way, I mean. I didn't expect you to be… like _this_." He finished, gesturing to all of me with his hand. Somewhere in that touching little speech I think he forgot I was here and started talking to himself, rather than me.

I wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that. Do I thank him? Do I now need to give my opinion on his character? And what the hell does he mean by how he _expected_ me to be? I didn't have to come up with a reply, because something else turned up.

Mark turned up… with another girl.

Shit. Can we just deal with the Jacob awkwardness again? I _really_ don't want to talk to him. Unfortunately, it was inevitable, because he had already seen me.

"Kai? Is that you?"

Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him, ignore him. I chanted in my head, hoping he would leave.

"Skylar!" Ugh… I can't handle this right now, I've already reached my douche bag quota for the day.

I groaned quietly and turned around. "Mark." I said through my teeth, letting the venom coat my voice freely. "Who's your friend?"

Mark opened his mouth to spew some more of his trademark bullshit, but Blondie stopped him. "I'm his girlfriend." She said snidely. He cringed.

"His girlfriend?" I repeated with an amused yet condescending voice. "Well if by girlfriend, you mean quick fuck, then yes. You make an adorable couple." A thought occurred to me and my anger was replaced with disgust.

"Mark," I started slowly, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Tell me you were not planning on having sex with her in my apartment." The guilty look on his face said everything he was too much of a coward to admit himself.

I was at a loss for words. "Get out of here Mark." My tone was strange; I sounded on the verge of laughter. It was pretty funny if you think about it. Am I going insane?

Apparently, it wasn't the intimidating type of insanity, because he wasn't getting the message. He was still here. And now talking, apparently.

"Sky." He licked his lips and I could just tell what he had to say was going to piss me off. "Baby, let's just quit it with the games, okay?"

Confusion. I didn't like his words, but I couldn't understand the meaning behind them.

"I like you; you like me. Can we stop with all this high school bullshit and get back to doing what we do best?" My jaw clenched as I started to understand what he was implying. He thought I was playing with him… for the fun of the _chase_. I bet in his mind, he hadn't even done anything _wrong_- other than of course bringing Barbie to my apartment. No, in his mind, this would be another one of those off-again months for our relationship. His _egotistical, narrow-minded brain_ somehow thought this was still happening. _We_ were still happening.

Blondie's eyes were shooting daggers at me, my eyes were shooting daggers at Mark, and Mark was just standing there, proudly basking in a bubble of his own ignorance. I had to suppress and overwhelming urge to punch him. "No Mark… This isn't happening. Leave. And take Malibu Barbie over here with you." I stated in a tone that dictated finality.

Before I turned around, I unleashed the last of my vocal, passive-aggressive fury on him. "Oh, and I'll be taking my key back now." I stated with an upturned palm. It was all I could do not to burst into laughter at his shell-shocked expression as he handed over the keys to the apartment.

I held my head high all the way to the passenger door, and waited until the car drove out of the building to show my self-satisfied smirk. It was only then I noticed the rhythmic clenching and unclenching of Jacob's fists on the wheel. Paired with the tight set of his jaw and inferno in his eyes, he was a terrifying sight to behold.

"Jacob?" I was concerned.

"_Who_ was that?" His tone of voice was unnerving. It signaled the reentrance of mad Jacob.

"My _ex_-boyfriend." Emphasis on the ex.

"I don't like him." I slumped down in my seat, overcome with exhaustion. What? It's been a long frickin' day.

"Yeah, neither do I." I yawned loudly.

"I really want to go back there and beat the crap out of him right now." He admitted. I shouldn't enjoy his words as much as I did.

"Maybe next time." I grinned, sliding my head on to his shoulder to use as a pillow. I hoped he didn't mid. His shoulder was comfy, just as warm as his hand.

"Wake me up when we get there…" I mumbled, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>My sleep was light. I would wake up every time my head was jostled ever so slightly on Jake's shoulder. He would, of course, apologize profusely, acting like he had run over my puppy or something. Normally, I would just ignore him and go back to sleep.<p>

I wasn't fully awake, however, until I heard the voices outside the car. The warmth of Jacob's shoulder on my forehead was gone, replaced with the cool glass of the window. My half-asleep mind wondered groggily where it went.

The voices quieted and my door was opened. A pair of warm arms encased me. The embrace was comforting and lovely, but unfamiliar. I gasped and tried to squirm out.

"Sky? Shh, Sky. Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." Jacob's voice soothed. I stopped squirming when I realized my feet couldn't touch the ground because he was carrying me. _He was carrying me_. My inner twelve year old just swooned.

"Jake? Where are we?" I asked, my voice thick from sleep.

"The garage." I just hummed in response.

"Geez Jake, what did you do to her? She looks dead." That was Embry's annoying voice that decided to comment, in case you were wondering.

"I'm not dead Embry." I stated, my eyes finally conceding to the fact that I was getting no more sleep right now and opening. I scanned the room. "So this is your garage…"

"Um, yeah. You like it?" Jacob asked, putting me down seemingly reluctant.

"Yeah." I decided finally, my eyes skimming over the area. There were tables with tools, and in the corner a couch, small TV, and a mini fridge. "It's… cozy." It was like a freaking sauna though. Maybe that was why both Embry and Jacob's shirts had disappeared… again.

I ran the tips of my fingers over the Rabbit. "So… what are you doing to it?" I wondered aloud.

"I'm not sure yet." Jake shrugged and shoved his hands into his cargo shorts. "I haven't decided. I was thinking of working under it some, seeing what I could tweak down there." Embry nodded in agreement and shoved some chips into his mouth.

"Can I take a look?" I asked, curious if the rest of the car was as meticulous as the engine.

He bit his lip. "Go ahead." He offered, holding his hands out.

I ran my tongue over my teeth, then pulled my shirt over my head and threw it on the floor, where it landed in a lump. Ah, much better. It was seriously like a hundred degrees in here. My abs had a slight sheen of sweat on them. I hadn't checked to see if Jacob's did too. If I looked, I might drool.

I registered the fact that Jacob and Embry were now staring at me. Well, Jacob was. Jacob had the comical eyes bugged out can't-believe-this-is-happening look on his face. Embry had the trying-so-hard-to-hold-in-laughter look while glancing between Jacob and I. Sheesh. They act like they've never seen a girl in a neon yellow sports bra before.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows. "It's hot in here. And it's not like anyone ever has a shirt on in this town anyway. I just figured I'd carry on the La Push tradition."

When no one answered I just shrugged and laid down on my back, pulling myself under the car. "Geez Jake, it's freaking awesome down here." I said, because it was.

"Can someone hand me a wrench, I think I see a loose bolt." I requested, holding my hand out from under the car.

Jacob groaned.

Embry fricking lost it.

Someone handed me a wrench.

I ignored them and played with the car. It was my new favorite toy.

When I pulled myself back out from under the vehicle, Embry cracked up even more, if that's possible. Jacob took one pained look at me and buried his face in his hands. "Sky… you… have… _grease_… on your nose!" Embry choked out between bursts of hilarious laughter. Seriously, if he didn't calm down soon, he was going to start rolling on the floor.

"Oh." I rubbed my hand on my nose. "Did I get it?"

He shook his head, his laughter unceasing. It annoyed me. I put my wrench down on the tool table and walked out the front door, my chin held high,

I got about 20 feet before I heard Embry calling my name. He was now suitably calm. "Hey, you forgot a shirt." He said, coming up from behind me.

So _that's_ why I was so cold. "So did you." I informed him.

He grinned what I was coming to discover as the 'Embry-patented-grin'. "Touché. But if you don't take the shirt back, Jake will keep it." He winked. Jacob appeared from behind him and hit him upside the head, beating me to it.

I put my shirt back on and continued walking in the way I was going before. The boys easily kept pace with me, their long legs taking strides equivalent to about two of my own.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Jacob asked.

I gave him a look, assuming the answer was obvious. "Emily's, of course."

"And _how_ were you planning on getting there? I'm going to take a wild guess here and say you _don't_ know your way around town yet." He said, smirking upon finding a flaw in my otherwise-perfect plan.

Darn. I knew I was missing something. "Actually, I was just planning on following the smell of muffins until I get to the kitchen, but if you lovely gentlemen would like to escort me there, then that could work as well."

Jacob grinned, showing his straight white teeth. "We'd love to. But you're going the wrong way."

Huh. Guess my sense of direction isn't as good as I thought it was.

It was only a ten minute walk from Jake's garage to Emily's house. When we got there she was indeed cooking. There were cookies on the counter. The two boys and I all clamored in and grabbed one.

Well, I grabbed one. Embry and Jake grabbed about six.

"Hey, hey hey!" Emily reprimanded good-naturedly. "No grease monkeys in my kitchen!"

Then she did that mom-thing. You know, that thing where they lick their thumb then wash your face off. Emily has it perfected. I scrunched my nose up. "Gross." I declared, wiping the back of my hand on my face.

She just laughed. Seth burst through the front door, out of breath. His face was frantic, he was panting. "Jake!" He said as if he had found what he was looking for. Or _who_ he was looking for.

Everyone gathered into the kitchen from other parts of the house, looking worried. "We found her." Seth huffed. "We found the girl."

_Kelsey._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And another chapter! This one is pretty long, lucky you :) Thanks for reading, and anyone who has alerted or favorited this story. And especially anyone who has reviewed. Love you!**


	5. a deck of cards

**Chapter 5- a deck of cards**

_Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind, or forgotten. –__**Lilo and Stitch**_

* * *

><p>"I'm going."<p>

"You're not going."

"Yes, I am!"

"No, you aren't!"

Déjà vu. Jacob and I had the same conversation this morning, just with slightly different topics. And damnit, if I won last time, I'm gonna win this time.

"Jacob," I started logically, willing him to see reason. "Kelsey is going to be _scared_. She needs to see someone she trusts. What makes you think that she will willingly leave a bunch of men she does not know, just to go to _another_ bunch of men she also does not know?" I tried to convince him.

He remained unmoved. "It's too dangerous. You can't go."

"If you don't take me, I'll just steal a car and follow you there." I threatened. I fucking knew I should have brought my motorcycle. This would have been so much easier.

He scowled. "No you won't. I'll get Emily to look after you."

"Leah gets to go!" Great, now I sound like a child. Jacob brings out the most annoying traits in me, so it would seem.

"Skylar is coming." Sam said as he walked past us down the stairs. The authority in his voice was irrefutable.

I gave Jacob a smug look and resisted the urge to pump my fist in the air. He looked at Sam with disbelief. "But… but… Sam! It's dangerous, she could be… could be…" He trailed off and made a face like saying the words 'killed' or 'hurt' was too painful for him.

"You can't let her go. How would you feel if it was Emily?" Sam sighed and turned to Jacob. He looked a little annoyed. I'm annoyed too. _Jacob _is being _annoying._

"I wouldn't exactly be happy, but you have to understand that there is no other option. Skylar is right. She needs to be there for her friend. This is not a discussion. She can stay in the car until we need her." He explained with the tone that frustrated fathers often took with their children.

Stay in the car until they needed me? I almost snorted. Yeah, like _that_ was going to happen.

Jacob reluctantly but obediently made his way to the car, opening the door for me. Not the Rabbit this time, just someone else's boring car. Pity. I may have developed a soft spot for the old run-down thing.

Jacob was still not happy. At all, really. He looked on edge the entire drive and his fingers kept clenching and unclenching from the steering wheel. I didn't make an attempt to talk to him.

The car ride seemed too long. Actually, after about half an hour, I was getting ready to accuse Jacob of just driving aimlessly in another attempt to prevent me from arriving at the scene. Just as I was about to start said accusations however, the car stopped. I looked out the window to see that we were in some sort of docking port. Ships, cranes, and other equipment littered the exterior. I didn't see Kelsey, Boss-Man, or any of his minions.

"Where are we?" I questioned, trying to pull open the already locked door. "Where is Kelsey? Where are the kidnappers? And Sam and everyone else?" I rambled on.

"Listen to me." Jacob cradled my face in his warm hands and I froze, any lingering questions becoming lost in his intense gaze. "_Please_ don't leave the car until I come and get you. If something happens, just yell. Okay?" Normally I don't like being ordered around, but something about the combination of his soft, pleading tone and puppy dog eyes made me nod dumbly.

He got out of the car and walked around the corner of one of the large metal cargo boxes. I blew air out of my mouth and leaned back in the seat. I feel like such a helpless _girl._ What I wouldn't give to be outside the car right now…

I strained my eyes in the darkness in an attempt to see outside the window. My efforts were fruitless- partially because it was too black outside to see much, partially because there was nothing outside to see anyway. All the action was taking place elsewhere, apparently. I shouldn't be surprised. Honestly, I'm impressed Jake didn't just park me in China in another vain attempt to be chivalrous about my safety.

I tried a great many different tactics to amuse my restlessness. For a while, I tapped out a piece by Bach on the dashboard, but that began to bore me. Then I tried rummaging through the car, but I'm guessing someone had just cleaned it, because other than a few dust bunnies, nothing of interest was to be found. Other than the baseball bat, of course. How that ended up in there, god only knows. Finally, I just settled with staring at the glowing green clock silently, watching the minutes tick by.

I was on minute eleven when I heard something going on outside. On instinct, I ducked underneath the seat and peaked out the window. I didn't recognize the men. It definitely wasn't Sam or any of the other La Push clan, but I don't think it was any of Boss-Man's posse either. I tried to listen in on their conversation, hoping it would help to end the internal battle that I was currently waging on what to do.

At first, their conversation seemed fairly normal. They were discussing some type of merchandise. Coupled with the fact that we were in a shipyard, it seemed logically believable for them to be discussing product exportation and importation. But then one of them alluded to their "merchandise" being _women_, and I realized that the conversation I was overhearing was far more sinister than your usual business deal. That made my decision for me. I've always been more of a person of action, and when it comes to fight or flight, I'll hold my chin high and battle it out honorably.

My eyes surveyed the car, looking for a weapon, only to again land on the baseball bat. Seriously, that thing should have an award. "Most Convenient Baseball Bat on the Face of the Planet" seems fitting.

The next order of business was actually getting _out _of the car. Jacob had locked me in, and though I usually wouldn't hesitate to hotwire the car (again), turn it on, then unlock the doors myself, the unavoidable noise would surely draw attention to myself.

I sighed and lifted my head up to look at the starry sky, racking my brains in hope that an idea would come to me. Wait, what? How could I see the sky? It was only then that my apparently dim-witted brain realized that I was looking out a sunroof. The perfect escape.

The only resources I had to my disposal were the bat and my hands, so I was going to have to tap into my inner MacGyver if I wanted this to work. I tried to pry it open with my fingers, successfully breaking a nail in the process. I succeeded in getting it open a little bit- just enough to shove a small piece of metal that I found underneath one of the seas into the crack and use it as a lever. I got it halfway open, understandably proud of myself for managing to do it soundlessly.

I first slid the bat out, resting it on the roof. Then, I lifted myself up quietly, casting the men a glance to make sure I was not yet discovered. They were still about fifty yards away, with their backs turned. So far, so good.

If I had some semblance of a plan before, I certainly don't anymore. I don't really know what I was thinking. I needed to do _something _now though. I slid down the windshield with my bat clutched securely in my hand.

Yes, let's just call it my bat already. This thing has done me more good than the pepper spray in my apartment will ever dream of doing. I'll just add it to the long list of thing I will one day repay the La Push clan for. _Sigh_.

I tip-toed up to them, ducking behind large metal crates. My footing was light from years of dance classes. The swing of my bat was not so light, as my victim soon noticed when I snuck up behind and delivered an accurate blow to the back of his head.

The other men soon took notice and tried to incapacitate me as well. Somewhere throughout the scuffle I lost my bat, rendering me weaponless. It wasn't until that point that I realized just how screwed I was.

I managed to knock out another one with a punch to his throat, but there were still two more full-grown men. I was already pretty roughed up- nursing a bloody (and possibly broken) nose and who knows how my bruises. Smugly, I noted that neither one of them looked much better. Granted, they looked more like the type that handled the business portion of these types of deals, but still. I was pretty proud of myself.

They both circled me like an animal does before it eats their prey. I shifted my feet into a strong stance, preparing myself. The hits never came… towards me at least.

The punches towards them were another story. They were delivered by muscled, bare arms- they came so quick that I feel like if I had blinked, I would have missed it. It was just two hits, than both men were out cold.

I just stood there for a second, not relenting from my defensive position, completely stunned. "What the hell happened? I thought he told you to stay in the fucking car." Paul, my apparent savoir said, sounding pissed off. But then again, when doesn't he sound pissed off?

"Well, I've never been good at following directions." I replied, finally getting up and out of my confused trance so I could pick up my lucky bat. I tried to wipe some of the blood off my face, unsuccessfully.

"What the fuck were you thinking? You could have been killed." He raged.

I rolled my eyes. "You sound like Jacob."

He scowled in response.

I ignored him as I tried to discern the extent of my injuries. My nose hurt like hell, and I would bet anything that it was broken, but other than that I was fine. I tried to quickly put it back, only to wince the second my hand merely brushed up against it. Clearly _that _won't work.

"Paul," I requested, hoping I could enlist the use of his muscles to possibly put them to good use. "Reset my nose for me… please." I thought to add at the last minute, albeit reluctantly.

He recoiled. "What! What the…? No! I ain't doing that." He yelled.

"Oh, shut up and don't be a baby. Just do it real quick and get it over with already." I said, talking over his mutterings about what a crazy chick I was.

He put his fingers to my still-bleeding nose, and I braced myself. And with one flick of his wrist, he popped my nose back into place with a loud _crack_. I yelped and let out a stream of cuss words to rival that of a sailor, ripping my poor nose out of his sadist hands and clutching it for dear life.

"Are you okay?" He asked, unable to keep the amusement from slipping into his voice. Yeah, I bet that amused him, the fucking asshole. "If you're done hopping around over there, I came to take you to your friend."

That snapped me back immediately. "Oh gosh, Kelsey? Where is she? Is she okay? Take me to her right now!" I demanded when he didn't automatically walk off or answer my questions.

"Chill the fuck down." He said putting his hands up. "I can hardly bring you back to Jake looking like _this_. He'll rip off one of my legs." He explained, sounding completely serious.

"Paul," I growled, not really in the mood to listen to his theatrics. "_Not my problem_."

He raised his eyebrows, but left, seeing that I had meant business. I followed him through the dark maze of crates until we finally turned a corner and I saw a mass of figures about a football field's length away. I broke out running, and didn't even think to be relieved that it was, in fact, the La Push clan I was running to and not the kidnappers.

When I got close enough to actually see the full scene, the gasp I took had nothing to do with being winded from the run. The metal box was full of women- girls really- all semi-conscious. I choked back a dry sob as I recognized the girl with the mass of feathered black hair.

"Kelsey!" I yelled, running up to her, paying the protests of the boys no mind. "Kelsey…" I said again when she didn't lift her head. Her pulse was still steady, and she didn't look bruised or beaten, but looks can be deceiving. Something tells me that the men in the kind of business Boss-Man is a part of know how to hit women and not leave a mark.

Her eyelashes fluttered open and my erratic breathing caught in surprise before steadying out in relief. "Sk-sky?" She whispered as her eyes opened. She blindly groped in the dark for my hand.

"I'm right here Kels, I'm right here." I assured her, squeezing her hand once.

"How do you feel?" Sam asked her from behind me. She immediately tensed up at the sound of his foreign voice.

"It's okay." I whispered to her. "He's okay." Her eyes darted all over the area, taking in all of the men standing at a fair distance from us.

"Qui sont-ils?" She questioned in French. When we were kids, we were both obsessed with the idea of learning a secret language. However, both of us were too lazy to actually _invent_ a new language ourselves, so we decided it would be equally effective to just use one of the ones someone had already invented. I can't even imagine how much we freaked out our parents- two little elementary school-ers walking around spewing French to one another. The cool thing was that it _worked_. No one in either of our families ever knew what we were saying. This is, until Alex decided to take it upon himself to learn it as well, the fun-sucker.

"Ils sont amis." I promised. "Did they hurt you?" I asked, half of me not even wanting to know the answer.

She paused and thought for a minute before shaking her head and struggling to stand up. "I don't _think_ so… I don't remember a whole lot."

"Don't stand up." I ordered, lightly pushing her back down. "That's what _they're_ here for." I said with a gesture towards the steroid-ridden men. "Will one of you come pick her up and carry her back to the car?" I asked just as Seth rushed over, eager to play hero yet again.

"Wait- you're coming aren't you?" Kelsey asked in a slightly panicked voice. I hesitated.

As much as I wanted to go back with Kelsey, they might need me here if any of the other girls I don't know wake up. "The girls…" I trailed off, looking to Sam for guidance.

"We'll get them to safety Skylar. Go with your friend. And Jacob, you go with them. Seth, after you bring her to the car come right back. Jacob, drive them home and then you do the same." He stated in his usual factual, no-nonsense voice.

Seth looked a little disappointed, but came with us anyway. "Are you okay? What happened to your nose?" Jacob worried as he took stride beside me.

"Nothing, nothing." I said, holding my hand up to my nose. I don't really want to admit to disregarding his warning and getting out of the car anyway.

"It clearly isn't nothing, Sky. Let me see, I can help." I reluctantly pulled my hand away from my bloody face. He held his fingers to the bridge of my nose where Paul had to pop my nose back in place. I hummed as the heat from his fingers radiated through the aching part, soothing the biting pain.

"Jesus, it's broken. Did you try to put this back yourself?" He asked.

"No," I said softly, not wanting to ruin the comfort his hands were giving me by moving and talking. "Paul did."

He rubbed my nose before pinching it lightly between his fingers. I could tell with relief that it had been set back- _properly_ this time. "Paul did a shi- crappy job." He said, finally taking his warm hands off my face.

I scoffed at his obvious avoidance of the expletive. "It's okay Jacob, you're a big boy; you can say shit. It's not like I don't curse like a sailor anyway. There really isn't a whole lot you can say that I haven't heard before." I said with a smirk.

He grinned and ran a hand through his cropped hair. "Good to know."

I suddenly wished it was _my_ hand running through his hair and down his arms… over his abs, and- Woah, what? What the fuck, where did that even come from? Um, anyway, back to the task at hand.

Seth laid Kelsey back down in the backseat of the car and I climbed in back with her as well. Jacob got up front and took one look at the open sunroof, raising an eyebrow at me. I shrugged. "Well, that explains the nose…" He grumbled.

"Yes, don't worry. I've learned my lesson- never defy an order from the might Jacob Black."

"Sky, what day is it?" Kelsey mumbled, half asleep.

"Monday the sixteenth, why?" I asked.

She shot up straight in the seat. "Monday! I have a test in Abstract Algebra tomorrow!" I tried not to laugh.

"Kelsey," I started. "I can tell you with the upmost confidence that you will _not_ be taking the test tomorrow, okay? So just relax." I swear, sometimes that girl can be so uptight and high strung that it makes _me_ stressed. And that is quite the accomplishment. Typically, I'm a very laid back person.

The drive home seemed a lot quicker because I wasn't as worried or in a hurry. As soon as we pulled into the driveway and Jacob dropped us off, Emily came out, a mess of frets and worries. "Is there anything you need, Kelsey dear? Oh goodness, let me get you some food. And Sky! Some ice for your nose." The woman was moving so fast, trying to do everything at once- I swear at one point she was a blur.

I had ice in my hand and was being ushered into the kitchen with Kelsey before I even knew what was happening. "Are you hungry?" She asked Kelsey.

"Starving." Kelsey breathed out truthfully.

I frowned. "How long has it been since you last ate?" I asked, concerned.

She got that little crease in her forehead that sometimes appears when she's thinking hard about something. "They gave me some soup-type thing… a while ago, I think." She supplied.

"So that means you've eaten _once_ in the past 48 hours or so?" I asked for clarification.

I could see the wheels in her brain turning as she did the math. "I guess so." She whispered finally.

"Oh, you poor thing." Emily said, handing Kelsey one of the muffins from breakfast as she got out ingredients to make something more substantial. "Are you a vegetarian like Sky as well?" She asked. I almost laughed.

Kelsey hated the fact that I was a vegetarian. She always complained that there was never any meat in the apartment for her to eat. Kelsey just shook her head politely, but I could tell by the small smile on her face that her mind was on the same track of thinking as mine.

I sat next to Kels at the table and waited patiently as Emily made her some sort of broth. She devoured it and we both went to the living room where Kelsey almost immediately crashed onto the couch, fast asleep.

I sat in the chair opposite to her, watching her steady breathing and finally feeling calm since the first time in days. Well, not completely calm. A part of me was with the La Push boys, worried for their safety. Alright, I'll admit it. Jacob's safety in particular. For some reason or another, my brain has decided to create a bit of an attachment to him, and would therefore mourn his loss. That's how I rationalized it, at least.

Leah was the first one to come back, dressed quite insufficiently, in my opinion, considering the weather. I didn't dwell on it for too long though, as I heard her explaining to Emily that the rest were just a few minutes away.

I didn't move from my spot on the chair, just curling up into a ball with my arms hooked around my bent legs, keeping my eyes trained onto Kelsey's frail figure. Leah walks so softly I didn't even notice she was in the room until she started talking to me.

"How is she?" I took my eyes off her, startled.

"She's fine." My voice was hoarse. Leah nodded, and after a pause asked, "How are _you_?"

I hesitated. "I'm…_fine_."

She nodded again and left, but not before offering one last piece of parting advice. "Might want to wash some of that blood off your face."

I touched a hand to my face, and sure enough it came back sticky and red with blood. I got up and slowly walked into the bathroom. When I looked in the mirror, I scared myself. My nose was pink and cold from the ice, and there was blood literally _everywhere_ on my face. It looked like I had a nasty run in with Freddy Kruger.

I washed my face, but rushed back out when I heard the now-familiar loud noises of the boys returning home. I felt much like Emily as I shushed them, motioning to the sleeping Kelsey lounging on the couch.

They all quieted quickly, except for Embry who came lumbering in last, unaware of my warning. "Oh, man, I'm tired. I swear, I haven't slept in a full 24 hours with all the patrols Sam's been putting on us recently." I hit him on the chest to try and shut him up, but it was too late. Kelsey was already stirring.

"Now look what you've done, you Neanderthal! She was tired!" I exclaimed in a whisper, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

Kelsey sat up on the couch and groggily rubbed her eyes. "Sky?" She asked, scanning to find me in the now-crowded room.

I went to sit down next to her reassuming my curled up position from before in silence. She did the same, and it was a second or two before her eyes widened, for the first time actually absorbing the fact that about ten shirtless men now stood around us- most staring unabashedly.

"Um, w-who are they?" She stammered inarticulately.

"La Push boys, meet Kelsey, Kelsey, meet La Push boys."

"Hey." Embry said with an upwards nod, trying to charm her with his grin.

She ignored him, still focused on me. "And… why are they naked?" I laughed. I hadn't even thought about how her conservative ways would take to this group of people. It should be interesting , at the very least.

"You know, I have been asking the same question since day one." I told her.

"You love it." Embry said with a laugh, squeezing himself in between us, where Kelsey say, looking uncomfortable.

"Where are the rest of you?" I asked, noticing that Paul, Sam, and Jake were all missing.

"There are _more_?" Kelsey stage-whispered to me across the couch from the other side of Embry.

"Yeah, we're missing Angry, Grumpy and Wolf Boy." I said, ticking them off one by one.

Quil barked out a laugh. "You've nicknamed us already?"

I shrugged. "You nickname yourselves. I simply acknowledge them." It was true. These boys make it so easy sometimes.

Embry opened his mouth to say something , but Kelsey cut him off suddenly, her voice tinged with a bit of urgency. "Have you called the Wonder Brothers yet?" That was what she called my family. It was oddly fitting.

"I called them yesterday." I reassured her.

She sighed. "You know that means they haven't slept since you called, Kai. You should really cut those boys a break."

I shrugged and looked at the clock on the wall. "It's almost two am, they can wait until the morning." I promised.

"Two am!" Embry exclaimed.

"What's wrong Embry, it is past your bed time?" I cooed at him as everyone laughed.

"Well, even if it is, Sam said we can't go home until he gets back with Jake and Paul." Collin, one of the younger boys said.

"Are you tired?" I doubted it, since she just woke up, but I asked Kelsey anyway.

"No," She shook her head, as expected. "Are you?"

"Nope." I lied, determined not to go to bed until she did.

"Who wants to play a game?"Embry suggested after a moment of silence, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. Everyone groaned simultaneously- even happy-go-lucky Seth. Leah suggested he go play Candyland with Claire. He said he would, but she was already asleep.

"We could play poker." I offered, tapping Kelsey with my foot, hinting. She shot me a warning look.

The suggestion actually got a few positive grunts and Embry went to go get cards. "I told you I was never playing this game again Sky!" Kelsey hissed at me. When we had gone to Vegas, I had not informed her that counting cards was… frowned upon… until _after_ we had won tons of money. She freaked out on me and went all goody-two shoes afterward, swearing to only use her powers for good and not evil from here on out, and promising to never touch a poker chip again.

"Come on!" I badgered her. "Just one game. No real money. It'll be fun, I promise."

She opened her mouth to argue further, but Embry's loud voice overpowered her. "Now, I've got to warn you girls, I'm pretty good, so don't cry when you lose." He said cockily, dealing everyone a hand. Kelsey closed her mouth in irritation. She hates when people say she's bad at something.

"_One game_." She whispered.

"Yeah, and you better keep up, because we aren't stopping the game halfway through because we have to explain the rules to you." Jared put in, rather grumpily.

"Actually, you know what? Let's make it strip poker." Kelsey exclaimed venomously. I almost laughed at her uncharacteristically bold statement.

This got a few "Hell yeah!"'s from the boys and suddenly everyone was joining in. "Let's do groups of three!" I called out over the ruckus of everyone being dealt in. "We call Leah."

Leah looked at me weird for a second before shrugging and walking over. "The hell, it ain't nothing they haven't seen before." She mumbled before sitting down.

"You girls can, we don't need to." Jared said, glancing at his cards.

"You can thank me later." I whispered to her over a few obnoxious cat calls from the boys.

Kelsey pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose in preparation as we all got a good look at the cards. She tried to explain to me once how she counted the cards. It had something to do with each card having a value and calculating your probability of winning the hand, I think. I'm not sure. All I know is that when we were in Vegas, her doing all the mental math and me doing all the talking and bluffing, we make one hell of a team.

"Call." Kelsey whispered to me when it was our turn. I echoed it out nonchalantly. I could see Leah shoot me a what-the-hell look from the corner of my eye. I can see why. Our hand wasn't spectacular, and the two people had already folded. However, I learned long ago never to question her. She is spot on with the math 90% of the time, and never does anything rash unless the odds are significantly in our favor- she is the picture of caution.

"What Kelsey says, _goes_." I lowered my voice as I whispered into Leah's ear so the boys wouldn't hear me.

We went around the group a few more times and slowly the amount of active players began to dwindle, until it was finally just us, Embry, and Seth. This time, on our turn Kelsey hesitated. Never a good sign.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked as we all collectively leaned our heads in close together in an attempt to block our conversation off from possible prying ears.

She just bit her lip.

"Well, what are our odds?" I asked, ready to make an executive decision if needed.

"I'd say they're at about 60% right now." She admitted. So a 40 percent chance I might have to take my shirt off? I exchanged a meaningful look with Leah and I could tell she was on the same page as me. I can live with that.

We leaned back out as Embry sat there looking cocky and sure of himself. "Call." I said with equal confidence in my voice. If we were going down, we were going down in style. Seth looked nervously between the intense stare-off that Embry and I had going and folded. I almost laughed when I saw the kid's hand. He had a king and a queen of the same suit. He would have beaten us easily, and probably Embry too. Too late now though, I guess.

When it was Embry's turn he actually leaned back and pretended to consider it. Like he would fold after all this. Even if he _was_ bluffing, he certainly couldn't go back on it now- his ego wouldn't allow it, I'm sure. "Call." He responded after a moment of pointless thought.

I smirked when I saw his shit cards. It was a two of clubs and a Jack of hearts. Nothing. "Oh, Embry." I taunted, turning over my winning hand. "I forgot to tell you, but we're pretty good. Try not to cry now that you've lost. _Strip_, boy." I ordered, grinning wickedly.

"You are truly evil, woman." He accused, pulling his shirt over his head.

"You know what this game is missing? Tequila." Leah declared, going over to get shot glasses. The younger boys protested when they were denied, and Kelsey hates to drink so she didn't have any either. I had one but no more, admittedly hating the taste.

We got through three more rounds before Sam, Paul and Jake showed up, ruining our fun. "What's going on?" Sam questioned when he walked in to find a shirtless Quil, a shirtless Brady, and a sheepish-looking Embry in nothing but boxers.

"Kicking Embry's _ass_ in Texas Hold'em, _that's_ what we're doing." Leah stated proudly.

Sam just nodded as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "Put some pants on Embry. Emily just bought that couch."

"How! Just… how?" Embry exclaimed, throwing his hand of cards up in the air to see that, once again, we had the winning hand. This time it was Jared's shirt that met its demise and was added to the now-growing pile.

"You're pretty good, huh?" Jacob stated, shaking his wet hair out like a dog, getting flicks of water on all those around him. Leah made some snarky comment, which he dismissed with a quick sorry.

"Pretty good?" Embry interjected before I could reply, still lost in his own little rant. "Try impossibly good! They're the only ones besides Collin and Seth who haven't lost any clothes. And that's just because both of them _fold_ at the beginning of almost every game. How do you do it?" He gripped my shoulders dramatically, looking at me intently. "Tell us truthfully…_ are you a mind reader_?"

I laughed and removed his hands from my shoulders. "It's called _card counting_, Embry." Paul said, walking into the room and opening a can of beer. "Cheater's poker."

Cue blank look from Embry. "Sky can count cards?" He said, disbelief evident. I tried my hardest not to look offended, I really did.

"No, of course not." Paul snorted. "Like she would ever be smart enough for that." Okay, attempts at not being offended just flew out the window. Jacob growled, which Paul ignored and continued on his speech.

"It's obviously _that_ one." He said, gesturing to Kelsey with his palm. She bit her lip, her eyes focused completely on her fingernails, as if they were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

"I mean, look at her." He continued, even though much of the room had now fell silent and it was obvious Kelsey was uncomfortable. "Everything about her screams _nerd_. She's even got those big fucking glasses."

Her face turned red in embarrassment, mine in anger. Kelsey was teased through much of her high school- mainly because she never stood up for herself. I became her personal bodyguard, but that didn't stop them from bullying her once I was gone. "Hey asshole, you wanna take the offensive comments somewhere else?" I offered sarcastically.

He looked over at me with disinterest, and his eyes flitted back to Kelsey just at the same time she raised _her_ eyes. Their gazes met and he froze. His grip on the can tightened, as if he were afraid he was going to drop it. The dumbfounded look on his face was almost instantaneously replaced with one of disgust.

"Oh, _fuck_ no." He growled.

"Damn, they're droppin' like flies." Embry, ever the classy one put in. I would like to point out that I have absolutely _no fucking idea_ what's going on. Judging from the immensely confused look on Kelsey's face, she feels about the same.

Sam and Jared pulled a growling Paul out of the room by his arms. The room stayed silent as we could all very clearly hear the yelled argument taking place outside. "What the… what the _fuck_? I didn't ask for this!" Paul yelled as Sam and Jared's voice tried to calm him down in the background.

"I mean, she looks like a fucking bookworm! And… and I like blondes! I'm looking to get _laid_, not get a _tutor_."

"Paul, calm down. You need to calm down or you're going to phase."

"Fucking calm down? I just imprinted on the Virgin Mary and you're asking me to calm down?" He yelled. It didn't take a genius to figure out who he was referring to.

"I'm going to go take shower before bed." Kelsey whispered, obviously hurt by the criticisms of the man she did not even know.

I led her upstairs quietly, showed her the shower, and the second she turned on the water, rushed back downstairs as fast as my feet could take me.

I got to the living room until Embry grabbed my arm, stopping me from going outside to where Paul was still on a rampage.

"That's really not a good idea." He warned.

"I know, but I'm doing it anyway." I told him, pulling my arm out of his grasp and walking out to where Jacob had now joined the party as well.

"Sky? What the hell are you doing out here- it's not safe! Get back inside!" He pleaded with me frantically as Sam tried to reason with a shaking Paul. I ignored him.

"Hey!" I yelled at Paul. He didn't respond. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" I tried again.

This time, he turned to snap at Jake- not acknowledging me. "Would you shut your girlfriend up already Jacob?" He demanded.

Against my better judgment, I stormed closer. "You know we could hear every word you said, right? What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked. Still no response, only an order from Sam to Jacob to get me out of here. I decided I needed a low blow.

"You know what they say about jerks like you, right? That you talk shit to compensate for your small _dick_?" I take the term low blow quite literally. However, my mission was achieved- he turned to address me.

"What the fuck are you even talking about? You know, I didn't ask for any of this shit. I didn't ask for _you_, or your little _friend_-" He sneered.

"If you have a problem, why don't you take it up with _us_, instead of throwing a temper tantrum like a toddler!" I yelled, taking another step forward so we were almost chest to chest. I felt a pair of arms grip me and I realized that now not only was Paul being held back by Jared and Sam, but I was being restrained as well.

"You have _no_ idea what you're getting yourself into." He snarled, his shaking now so severe his figure almost looked as if it was blurring. Sam and Jared's demands to calm down now fell on deaf ears.

I managed to jerk one of my hands back from Jacob's relatively gentle grasp and push Paul ever so slightly. "I can take your _steroid-sucking ass_ any day of the week douchebag." I spat.

"_Stop!_" Kelsey's voice rang over all the other noise- the panicked yelling in the background, the unsuccessful demands from Sam, Jared and Jacob to calm down, and mine and Paul's own argument.

Paul stopped struggling for a second but the shaking continued. I froze, along with everyone else, my eyes drifting to Kelsey, standing a few yards away from us in the slight drizzle outside. Behind her, an audience I had not previously noticed had accumulated.

She just stood there, staring at both of us with her arms crossed. I recognized the look on her face. I called it her "I'm _waiting_" look. I should know. I get the look… often. If there was one thing Kelsey couldn't stand, it was fighting. Fighting and tempers. I assumed it had something to do with her parents getting divorced when she was ten years old, causing most of her home life from a young age to be a constant war zone.

Paul and I were both staring back at her, but I could see Paul in my peripheral vision as his shaking slowly ceased within a minute or two under her intense glare, and he adopted the same dumbstruck expression he had worn when he first saw her a few minutes ago. This time, however, everyone around us mimicked his surprise, even Emily, barely visible in the darkness and rain, standing on the porch, had to lightly put a hand over her gaping mouth. It was now dead silent- a complete change from the chaos of a minute ago. The only noise was the seemingly resounding drops of rain onto the pavement.

"Are you finished?" She asked calmly over the rain, her voice even. Actually, it may just be my imagination, but the rain seemed to have picked up considerably. I licked my lips and nodded slowly. Although I would like to yell at Paul some more, she seemed to have us both in some sort of calming hypnosis. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Paul do the same and both of us were released from the restraining grips of the other boys hesitantly.

"Good." Kelsey stated. "Skylar, apologize." Okay, that _definitely_ snapped me out of the trance she had us under.

"Apologize? No! I was defending you!" I argued, yelling again, this time at her. Not in anger, I just wanted her to see justice. I had absolutely no _reason_ to be apologizing to Paul. None.

"Sky. _Apologize_." It was no longer a request, but an order.

"But-"

"No 'buts' Sky! Just do it." God, she's such a mom.

I sighed and turned to Paul, who was sneering at me in glee. I had to bite my tongue to keep in all the insults I wanted to hurl at him. "I'm _sorry_." I said, with a small edge of sarcasm and disdain to my voice.

"Thank you." Kelsey approved. "Now Paul, apologize to Skylar."

He scowled at her. "For _what_?"

"You know _what_."

He turned to me reluctantly. "_Sorry_." He spat, sounding anything but the sort. We stood there glaring at each other for a few seconds, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Let's go inside now Kai. I'm tired." Kelsey suggested, now at my side.

I swallowed, taking half a step back and rolling on the balls of my feet before breaking Paul's gaze and turning my back to him, pulling Kelsey along with me and not even casting him a parting glance. I swear as we walked up the stairs I heard Embry say "Well, what do you know, she's trained him already."

Kelsey and I were both silent for a few seconds once we got into the bedroom, both of us unsure of what to say. Finally, I broke the silence.

"You totally just Dr. Phil'd us." I informed her.

She bit her lip, holding in giggles as one half of her mouth turned up into a smile. "Did you see their faces? You would have thought I just tamed a dragon."

I laughed. "Forget about _their _faces, did you see _his_ face?"

We both collapsed onto the bed in hysterics. "Sky?" She asked after we had calmed down.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming back for me."

"I'll always come back for you Kels. Goodnight."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh, Paul. How we love you. Anyway, thanks for all the awesome reviews! I have some pictures up on my profile page of Sky and Kelsey, if you want to see them. I am kind of trying to make Skylar's character the antithesis of Bella, so I hope that's working. So yeah, thanks for reading and please review! :)**


	6. a summon

**Chapter 6- a summon**

_You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. –__**To Kill a Mockingbird**_

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><p>I woke Kelsey up early that morning so that we could go running, in hope that Fluffy would show up and I could introduce them. I sound like a crazy person, I know.<p>

"Come on!" I rushed her out the door quietly so we wouldn't wake up Emily, Sam, or Claire.

"It's too _early_ Skylar!" She complained, lagging behind.

"You just need to get your blood pumping. I mean, it could be worse- it could be raining." I pointed out.

"In which case, I would _not_ have left the house." She told me.

I just rolled my eyes and started at a slow jog in the direction of the woods. "Do you even know where we're going?" She huffed as we past the tree line.

"Why, you worried we're going to get lost? I think Emily has some bread crumbs if you want to leave a trail back to the house…" I suggested sarcastically.

"You know, early morning jogs are the reason I _didn't _go to Navy like my father wanted me to."

I snorted. "Your father was delusional if he thought you were even _considering_ the academy." When her parents divorced, her mom got full custody, so her dad never really got to know Kelsey very well. He was another instructor at the academy that worked with Dad. Both Tom and Brian say he's an asshole slave-driver. His nickname on campus was Sergeant Dick, so maybe their lack of communication was for the best.

Actually, Kelsey secretly told me in like, seventh grade, that she had been somewhat relieved after her parents got divorced- an end to listening to all the arguments. My only complaint was that I didn't get to see her as often- full custody with her mom meant that she had to move into an apartment off the academy grounds.

She stopped running very suddenly, causing me to skid a few feet as I tried to fall back. "Did you know he uninvited me from Thanksgiving this year?" She said, her voice sounding off even in between her short pants for breath.

"Seriously?" She nodded.

"What about your mom?" I asked. Usually, they had a system down for holidays. Her mom got Kelsey's birthday and Christmas, her dad got Thanksgiving and Easter.

She shrugged. "She's going on a cruise. Already bought the ticket, and it's non-refundable." She didn't _sound_ hurt, but I knew better.

"Just come and have Thanksgiving with us, then." I offered, knowing my dad would be okay with it.

"Really?"

"Of course." I smiled at her. "My family loves you. Alex _dotes_ on you, for Christ's sake. In fact, he told me once that he likes you better than me." I believe it all stems from the fact that he had her do his math homework for a full year when we were in eighth grade.

I was momentarily distracted by the large, glowing eyes in the bushes. I recognized them- Fluffy's eyes.

I realized that I had to approach this introduction with caution, so as not to scare either of them. "So… anyway, did you know there are _trained wolves_ in this forest?" I changed the subject gracefully.

"Um, you mean… dogs?" Kelsey asked, sitting down as it was now apparent we wouldn't be continuing on our run.

"No, no. _Wolves_." I clarified.

She rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to scare me, Sky. There are no such thing as trained wolves."

"I'm serious!" I protested. "I, um, saw one the other day on my run. He knew how to sit on command and everything."

"Mhmm, sure you did." She said in an 'I'm-on-to-you' tone of voice.

"I'm not kidding Kels. Just don't freak out, okay?" I whistled, hoping Fluffy would take it as a cue to show himself.

He did- coming lumbering out in all his floppy, puppy-like glory. I saw Kelsey's eyes widen to the size of saucers and I slapped my hand over her mouth to muffle her scream. Yeah, I'm an awesome friend.

Fluffy say patiently, as if he were expecting the admittedly logical reaction. It did not help the matter of calming her down when a new, grayish wolf sauntered out from behind a tree, much tenser and more on guard than Fluffy.

I noticed that Kelsey had stopped screaming so loudly now, so I took my palm off from over her mouth. "Skylar…" She whispered, clinging to me and desperately trying to drag me away from the scene. "Wolves, Skylar. Those are wolves."

"Yes, yes they are." I confirmed for her. "But friendly ones, I promise." Well, actually, I'm not too sure about the grey one, but he hasn't attacked us yet, so that's got to be a good sign.

"Oh my god, are you crazy? Skylar, we need to _leave_. Wolves _eat_ people." She said, pulling again at my hand.

"No, no- I promise. They're nice." To prove my point, I put my hand out again to pet Fluffy. She yelped just as my hand touched his fur, slapping her palms over her eyes. After a few seconds and a lack of screaming on my part, she spread her fingers, peeking through hesitantly. "He's not gonna eat me Kelsey." I echoed my earlier sentiment. "Come here, pet him."

She hesitated, bringing her fingers forward and squeezing her eyes shut while turning her face away. Her hand shook as she slowly brought it forward to Fluffy's head as he waited quietly.

She finally made contact with his ear, and Fluffy purred, leaning into her touch. Kelsey giggled, gaining confidence as she lightly petted his muzzle. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right. He's really cute."

I approached the grey wolf boldly, reaching out my hand to pet him as well. Before my hand made it to his fur, however, he growled- a deep, intimidating sound. A _real_ growl, not like the one Fluffy had teased me with the other day. I quickly pulled back.

Fluffy growled at the grey wolf, almost as in a warning. Kelsey stepped back from the auburn wolf, her eyes wide at the new sounds. "I think I pissed that one off." I whispered to Kelsey, so as not to disrupt their, um… conversation…

Fluffy seemed to hear me though, because he stopped growling at his friend and looked at me, slowly baring his teeth in what kind of looked like a… smile. He made a coughing noise in the back of his throat. "Is he… _laughing_ at you?" Kelsey whispered in awe.

"I think so." I replied, mimicking her tone.

"Man… what do they put in the water around here?" She questioned. This time, the grey wolf stopped growling too, making the same coughing noise.

"Let's get out of here." I said, having had enough crazy for one day. Kelsey nodded, and we left the two laughing wolves behind us.

* * *

><p>"Morning Emily!" I said, grabbing a muffin a few hours later, after I had taken a shower and dressed for the day. Kelsey was already sitting at the table, playing with Claire. Kelsey looked up when I walked in, giving me a disapproving glare.<p>

"Call your brothers." She ordered, pointing at me menacingly.

I groaned and dragged myself upstairs, digging around for my cell phone that I had hastily thrown in my bag on the ride to my apartment with Jacob. I went back down to the kitchen so I could eat and call them at the same time.

I cringed when I opened my phone. 64 missed alerts. Most from Tommy, a lot from Dad and Brian, a handful from Alex and Charlotte, and a couple from my classmates. Kelsey glanced over to my screen as she saw my expression. "I told you." She chided, stabbing some eggs mercilessly with her fork and popping them into her mouth.

Two big hands appeared out of nowhere, plucking my phone from my hands. "Embry! Give it back!" I yelled, chasing him around the table as he held the phone over my head.

"Phew, someone's popular." He teased, scrolling through all the missed calls. And of course, since the gods just hate me, the phone started ringing as he was holding it, playing ACDC's _Back in Black_.

"Hm, wonder who this could be." Embry said deviously, pressing accept and bringing the phone to his ear, much to my horror. "Hello?"

Oh please, oh please, oh please don't let it be my father… or Tommy. If it has to be anyone, please let it be Brian or Alex. At least then, if Embry does something stupid the consequences will be less dire.

I got down on my knees and mimed begging to Embry, though I doubted he would show mercy. "Oh no, this isn't Skylar. This is her _boyfriend_, Embry." He grinned wickedly.

Just kill me. No, seriously. Before Embry does it unintentionally. "Sure, she's right here." Embry chirped happily, unaware of the fact that he just ruined my life. "There you go Skylar." He said, handing me the phone before practically skipping off. I glared daggers at his retreating figure.

"Hello?" I said into the cell phone, mentally preparing myself to get chewed out by either my father or one of my brothers.

"Um, I'm going to pretend that I know what just happened."

"Matthew?" I asked, one part relieved and one part confused.

"Don't sound so surprised. Are you planning on _ever_ coming back to practice, or do I have to find a new partner?"

Ugh. I guess the fact that he still expects me to be at class means that Mark kept true to his promise to Boss-Man about not telling anyone. "Um, well, remember that hell-of-a-week I told you about?" I asked, knowing that he needed an explanation.

"Err, sure?" I rolled my eyes at his typical boy answer. I explained to him everything that had happened the past three days or so. He was quiet for the entirety of my speech, and for about a minute after. So quiet, in fact, that I had begun to wonder if he had just hung up.

Finally, he spoke. "Where are you, again?" Seriously, I had just told him of my near death experience and he chooses to ask _that_ question?

"La Push." I said, my voice betraying my irritation.

There was another long pause and some background noise that sounded like fingers of a keyboard; then "Okay, I'll be there in a few hours."

I was stunned to silence. "You mean, you're coming here?" I clarified, wanting to be certain.

He sighed. "Kai, I know how much dance means to you, and I know how much you probably want to be here right now. As much as we may not get along some times… you're my friend. If I can help you by driving all over hells half-acre so we can practice our effin' routine… then sure. I'll do it."

I squealed, surprised for a second that such a girly sound was coming out of my mouth. "Thank you Matt! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said over and over again.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He grunted, back to his grumpy old self. "See you soon. Oh, and I'm taking your motorcycle." He finished before hanging up. Well, that's Matt for you. He makes a nice heartfelt comment about your friendship then goes off and steals your Ducati.

I didn't even close the phone, I just prepared myself for a harder explanation. Matthew was kind of like a warm-up round- a mere prologue to the main event, which was now, which was my brothers.

I dialed the phone number for my house- the same number I have had memorized since age five.

"Hello?" A voice answered- female. I vaguely detected it as Charlotte's.

"Charlotte? It's me, Skylar."

"Oh my gosh! Skylar! Hold on, let me put Tom on the phone- Tom! It's your sister!" She called, her hand that I assumed was over the speaker slightly muffling her voice at the end.

"Sky? Is that really you?" Tom answered, sounding out of breath.

"It's me Tommy."

"Hell, kid. You're killing us over here. Do you know how much we've been worrying about you Skylar? After that phone call with Brian we didn't know what to think! You missed the flight, you call us hours later saying something happened, but you can't tell us what, _and_ you won't even tell us where you are." He lectured, telling me thing I already knew- but I didn't interject. He paused for a second. "Hold on a sec, you're going on speaker. Everyone is here, by the way, so start talking."

I'm assuming that by 'everyone', he means all my brothers, my dad, and Charlotte. "Okay, but no interruptions, alright? I tell you the story from the beginning, but no interruptions." There was a chorus of agreement in the background and I started.

I told them the whole story- emitting the parts about Edward and Mark, assuming they didn't want to hear about my boy drama. And they were true to their word- not once adding so much as a gasp or a "wow".

After I finished, it was my father that spoke first. "Is Kelsey there, Skylar?"

"Yes, sir," I agreed, pulling the phone away from my hand and covering the receiver.

"Kels!" I yelled to the other room where she had gone to talk with Emily. "Dad wants to talk to you." I explained, handing her the cell phone.

"Hello?" She answered, frowning as Jacob and Paul came into the kitchen, loud as usual. I refused to make eye contact with Paul, but waved slightly at Jake, who beamed back at me.

"No si- yes sir but… no sir, I understand." It sounded like Kelsey was having a little trouble with my dad.

"Is he giving you a hard time?" I whispered. Jacob and Paul looked on curiously. Paul was trying to look uninterested, but was failing. Kelsey nodded and rolled her eyes.

"Sir, I assure you, that is extremely unnecessary." She argued to whatever deal it seems he has just tried to make with her. "Sure, here she is." She said, handing me back the phone with a sigh.

"Dad?" I asked, putting my phone to my ear.

"I have a proposition for you Skylar." He said as soon as I spoke. I could hear Tommy putting in his two-cents in the background.

"Dad! No propositions- you heard her story! We need to get over there _now_." I tried to use mental telepathy to get him to shut up. Thankfully, my dad continued to ignore his background noise, returning instead to the ultimatum surrounding his 'proposition'.

"What you have told us sounds very overwhelming to us, as I'm sure you understand. I realize that you probably don't want us to fly over there and help you. Both Brian and Tom say that we should anyway. _I_ think that you are responsible enough now to handle yourself. However, I want you to get the locks changed on your apartment and I don't want you and Kelsey going into the city by yourselves anymore." I tried to speak up and argue that Mark had been with us, but then I remembered that I didn't mention him.

"Yes, sir." I agreed, surprisingly content with the terms of his proposition.

"Oh, and I want to speak with the police officer you are staying with there." So… I may have told a tiny white lie. I figured it would be easier to tell him that Sam was a cop then to go through explaining the weird shirtless men cult I had now somehow mixed myself up in. That little tidbit of information would have had him booking the next flight to Seattle stat.

"Ah, sure. He's right here, actually." I lied, coming up with a hair-brained plan off the top of my head.

I covered the phone with my hand. "Hey, do you want to do me a _huge_ favor?" I asked Jacob, whispering so no one would be able to hear me on the other line. He nodded eagerly, a grin threatening to break out over his face already.

"Lie to my dad for me."

The grin faltered and his eyes widened. Paul leaned back in his chair, smirking like he was about to watch a particularly funny video of someone tripping and falling off the Empire State building. "Y-your dad?" Jacob stuttered. "Isn't he like… in the _military_?"

"It's fine, it will be really easy." I promised. He still looked hesitant. Time to bring out the big guns. I made puppy dog eyes at him, staring up at his tall frame from under my lashes. "Please? I'll be your best friend forever." I heard Kelsey snort from behind me, unable to contain herself.

It was working for Jake though; he had a dreamy, dazed look on his face. "Yeah Jake, don't you want to be her _best friend_?" Paul put in sarcastically, clearly enjoying himself.

"No one asked you." I snapped, still testy from last night.

"Please Jacob?" I begged, desperate. He looked undecided for only a moment more before finally nodding. "Okay." I whispered, explaining his job to him. "All you have to do is talk to him and say you're a police officer. Just answer his questions, kay?"

I handed him the phone, and he put it to his ear. He cleared his throat once, using a voice slightly altered to his own. "Yes, hello? This is Officer… Swan. Officer Charlie Swan. What can I do for you?"

He was actually a pretty good actor, when he applied himself. "Your daughter is in capable hands… yes, last night… no, not in my opinion. Of course. You're welcome. Good bye." He handed the phone back, releasing a long sigh of relief.

I flashed him a quick thumbs-up before finishing off the conversation with my family. I flipped the phone closed and basically flung myself at Jacob, clinging onto his neck. "Yay! They totally bought it- you're the best!" I squeaked happily.

"So does this mean no impromptu visits from the Wonder Brothers any time soon?" Kelsey asked from behind me.

I turned around on Jacob's lap so I could face her. He still hadn't said anything yet, but I could feel him breathing quickly. I hope I didn't freak him out. "Well, I wouldn't say that's completely out of the picture. Just impromptu visits that include bringing an arsenal of weapons and a license to kill." I reasoned.

"Are there any other kind of visits with them?" She asked, getting up to go to the fridge.

Paul had left sometime during the end of the phone call, so it was just me and Jacob in the room now. I felt his warm arms wrap around me, finally having unfrozen. "Is this going to be how you say thank you every time I do something nice for you? Because in that case… I'll do more nice things."

I grinned, wriggling out of his grasp. "I'm gonna make you work for it boy. I ain't cheap." I said, skipping out of the room and almost running into Emily, who was coming into the room at the same time.

"Oh, Sky!" She exclaimed, holding out a white envelope. "I was looking for you. This came in the mail for you." She explained.

"The mail?" That's impossible. No one knows I'm here, except Matthew, but I told him twenty minutes ago. Sure enough though, it was my name written on the front in fancy script.

_Skylar Thompson_

I glanced from Emily and the letter a few times before ripping it open unceremoniously. I plopped down at the kitchen table where Kelsey was now sitting and eating a sandwich. I unfolded the white paper, surprised to see the sender.

Cullen. But not Edward- not even Bella. Alice. Was that the sister or his mother? I don't think I've heard him talk much about her.

_Dear Skylar,_

_ Hello! You probably don't know me, but I'm Alice, Edward's sister. Edward was going to write the letter himself, but he can be a bit indecisive, and I was getting tired of waiting for him to make up his mind. Anyway, I don't think our meeting got off on the right foot. I of all people know that my brother can be a bit of a jerk sometimes (but a jerk with good intentions), so I'm sure that your punishment for him was well deserved. I would really like to get to know you better, and I think Edward would like to talk to you as well. Why don't you come over to our house at around noon? You know where to find us! We're going to have so much fun together Sky!_

_ Sincerely, Alice Cullen_

I flipped the paper over, but that was all the writing there was on it. Seriously? No, this has to be some sort of practical joke. Normal people don't send this to someone who just took a baseball bat to their brother's car. Then again, _normal_ had never been a word I could have used to describe Edward… maybe it runs in the family.

"Who's it from?" Kelsey asked with her mouth full.

"Edward Cullen's sister." I stated, sounding disbelieving even as the words left my mouth.

Kelsey choked on the sandwich. "Edward… Cullen? As in, _Italy_ Edward Cullen?" She managed to get out between coughs.

Kelsey was the only other person who knew about my connection to Edward. She _is_ the one who found me a year later, anyways. I had to give her some explanation as to why I was such a mess. I never did manage to gather up the courage to tell anyone else about him though- until now, that is.

"No, the other Edward Cullen."

Kelsey ignored my sarcastic comment, holding her hand out instead. "Let me see the letter." She demanded.

After she read it, she laughed. I kid you not- she _laughed_. "Oh, this is rich. It's some sort of joke, right?" She asked.

I shook my head. "I really don't think so." She stopped her chortling.

"Oh, well, um… in that case, I think you should go." She said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

I shrugged. "Why? I've said everything I've wanted to say to the dude." Right now, what I really needed was Edward Cullen and all his drama behind me.

"Yes, but has he said everything he wants to say to _you_?"

"I'm not really sure if he deserves that opportunity."

"Everyone deserves the opportunity to have their say Sky. Try imagining your roles reversed. _Then_ how would you feel?" And with those wise words she left the room to go talk to Sam.

I let her words sink in for a moment before going to find Jacob. It was eleven thirty already, and I wanted to be on time. Yeah, yeah, I'm going. What the hell do I have to lose?

"Emily, where-?"

"In his garage." She cut me off, predicting the end of my sentence. Okay then.

I walked in to find Embry and Quil huddled around an X-Box and a small TV, while Jacob laid, his upper half concealed under the Rabbit. "Hey new best friend." I called from the doorway, hoping to butter him up a little bit before I asked for yet _another_ favor.

He cursed in surprise and tried to sit up, hitting his head in the process. Embry and Quil, the great friends that they are, just laughed. I rushed over to his side as he pulled himself out from under the car while rubbing his forehead. Don't I feel like a piece of crap. "Oh, shit! I'm so sorry Jake; I didn't mean to scare you!"

"You didn't scare me, I was just… startled… is all." Not only did I bruise his forehead, but apparently his pride as well.

"Would you dimwits stop laughing at him for ten seconds and go get some ice?" I snapped at the boys, who both walked out practically wiping tears from their eyes.

We sat cross-legged next to one another, our backs up against the Rabbit. I grabbed his big hand and began tracing patterns on it. "Well I came in here to ask you for a favor, actually, but seeing as I am a terrible friend…" I said as my finger drew light circles on his palm.

He stared at his hand on my lap as I played with his fingers. He didn't take the bait. Guess I'm going to have to be a little more blunt. "Jake?"

"Hm?" He finally raised his eyes to meet my own.

"Can you drive me somewhere?"

"Whatever you need Sky." He promised.

"Can you drive me to the Cullen's?" He sighed, unsurprised.

"How did I know you were going to ask me that?" I intertwined our fingers and he went back to staring at our hands.

"Maybe because I just live to make your life hell." I joked.

His eyes came back up again quickly. "No you don't Sky. Don't say that." He said, serious. I smiled at him and gave his warm hand a quick squeeze before standing up and releasing him from my grip. My hand immediately mourned the loss of his warmth.

"By the way, which one is Alice? Was it the pixie or the blonde bitchy-looking one?" I asked, trying to determine exactly which Cullen I was going to meet. I had already ruled out the older brunette, assuming that was his mother.

"Alice? She's the small brown-haired one."

There was a timid knock on the door and Kelsey peeked her head in. "Hey. I was just coming to make sure you didn't leave without me." She said, walking over to stand beside me.

"Oh. You're coming with us?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, I've heard so much about Edward I feel like I know the guy personally. It's high time I've met him."

"Is that okay, Jake?" I asked. He nodded.

He climbed into the driver's seat, and I tried to stop him. "Don't you want to wait for ice for your forehead?"

He smirked. "Those clowns? Yeah, they weren't going to get me ice."

I realized he was probably right- concern for Jacob's well-being didn't seem to score high on either Embry or Quil's list of priorities.

"Alright, well then as long as you don't have a concussion, you're okay to drive."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Skylar."

The ride to the Cullen's was much more fun this time than it was last- it mainly consisted of Kelsey and I arguing about radio stations and then Jacob trying to appease us both with some horrible country station that no one wanted. By Lord Jacob's decree, we were forced to listen to blue grass down-on-the-bayou music for the remainder of the drive.

It wasn't until we actually pulled into the little dirt road that led to the Cullen's house that I decided to voice my opinions on the matter, however. "Things I _hate_ about Jacob Black." I announced loudly to the echoing trees around me as I slammed the car door shut.

"Oh, this should be good…" Kelsey remarked, getting out on her side.

I ignored her. "Number one: His inability to drive _properly_."

He smirked at me. "Don't you mean _illegally_?"

"No, wolf boy. With reckless abandon. Number two: His taste in music." After that I had to pause, actually having to think about the next one. He took my short silence as a sign of completion.

"That's all? Seriously, that's the best you can come up with? Should I be flattered, or offended?" He teased.

I waved him off. "Oh please. I know! Number three: Won't let me beat up Paul." I ticked off on my finger.

"Actually, that was some of my doing as well." Kelsey added in from behind me.

"Great! I can chalk it up as reasons to hate Kelsey also." We had already made it to the front door, but we were just standing there; no one was ringing the doorbell.

"Is that it?" Jake asked.

I shrugged. "For now."

"You forgot the part where he smells like a dog." Came from the doorway, and lo and behold, the devil himself stood in the open doorframe.

"Oh, hello _leech_. Didn't know you would be here. I was under the impression I would be meeting Alice, the scribe of these lovely invitations." I sneered at him, waving the fancy letter in his face.

"Skylar, be nice." Kelsey demanded from behind me. "Edward, I'm assuming?" She said, offering her hand for him to shake.

"Yes, you must be Kelsey. Skylar talked a lot about you." Ugh… kill me now.

"Yeah, yeah. I came here to see your sister, not your ugly face." I said, throwing the letter at him. I hope it gave him a goddamn paper cut.

"Alice is upstairs, I asked her if I could talk to you first. Alone?" This got a menacing look from Jacob, who started shaking.

I raised an eyebrow. "So this whole thing was just a set up? A _trap_? Well then, I'm outta here. I don't negotiate with terrorists."

I tried to make a grand exit, but Kelsey stopped me. "Remember what we talked about before, Kai? Putting yourself in his shoes?" She reminded me.

I groaned and turned around slowly. "Fine, Cullen. You got two minutes. Talk."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Here's a late Christmas present you guys! I hope you all had a great holiday :) Originally, this was going to be one really long chapter, but I split it up into two. Edward is going to be an important character in this fic, but there will be NO ROMANCE between him and Sky. About making a separate fic about Kelsey and Paul… I might add some outtakes and stuff from her/his POV, but I don't think I have enough about them to do an entirely new story. Anyway, thanks for the support! Review! **


	7. an awkward situation

**Chapter 7- an awkward situation**

_I'm allergic to politeness. __**–Written in the Wind**_

* * *

><p>"Don't you want to go somewhere else to talk?" Edward asked, gesturing to the door as if he wanted to lead me somewhere. I shook my head.<p>

"Anything you can say in front of me, you can say in front of them." I crossed my arms, standing still.

This seemed to dull Jake's shaking a bit. Edward agreed, though staring at Jacob apprehensively while he did. "Skylar… I _understand_ if you don't want to hear what I have to say- what happened in Italy was irresponsible on my part, and I regret it every day. Hate is a rational reaction to what happened between us… how things ended two years ago. But it would mean a lot to me if we could move past this and continue being friends."

I stared at the floor, feeling unnaturally vulnerable. "Did your _wife_ help you write that?"

His stance hardened a bit. "No, _Bella_ didn't help. I came up with it myself, actually."

"Right." I cleared my throat awkwardly. Well, it wasn't exactly the on-his-knees-groveling I was hoping for, but it might do. "I'll consider your request and get back to you in six to eight business days, Cullen. Now where's the rest of the Brady Bunch?" I asked, pushing past his cold-as-ice chest and walking into Martha Stewart's dream home.

On cue, the family entered in all their super-model-like glory. The pixie (Alice, I guess) came right up and hugged me. "Hello Sky!" It's so nice to meet you formally!" She spoke in exclamations.

"Yeah, um. Thanks for the letter. It was… thoughtful."

She grinned and started to introduce me to everyone. They all had very strange names. She saved Bella for last. "And this is Edward's wife, Bella."

Bella smiled politely. "It's nice to meet you Skylar."

It was then my mouth filter decided to stop working. "So Bella, you got some sort of crazy seductress powers or what?" Her mouth fell open. Jacob and the big one, Emmett, I think, guffawed loudly, while Edward face-palmed, knowing to expect this sort of behavior with me.

Bella looked confused. "I- uh… excuse me?"

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "You don't have to answer that, love." I was a little surprised.

"Hey! That was a legitimate question! I was just wondering how she got a GQ underwear model _and_ Tim Burton's wet dream to both date her." I justified.

"She's genuine." The moody-looking blonde one said. Oh right, Jasper. I told you- weird names. No way I'm going to remember them all.

Edward groaned in exasperation, a common reaction to overexposure of my awesomeness. "I know! That's the worst part. Alice, didn't you want to talk to her?"

"Wow, so much for that friendship thing, huh? That lasted _super_ long." I said disdainfully.

"I just don't want you around my wife! I'm afraid your complete lack of social etiquette might rub off on her." He said, holding Bella close to him protectively.

"Missed you too Eddie." I cooed at him as Alice led me out of the room. And just like that, Edward and I were back to normal. Normal for us, at least.

"So, GQ underwear model would be… me then?" Jacob whispered to me teasingly.

"Don't get cocky kid." I said, quoting my life mentor, Han Solo.

Jacob must have recognized the line and he grinned. "You're weird." He accused.

"People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Jacob."

"Sky! Come with me." Alice said, grabbing my hand. Jacob grabbed Alice in response. Alice glared at his hand as if it had personally offended her.

"Where are you taking her?" He demanded.

"Get your _paw_ off me. Now." Alice warned.

"Jake, it's okay. You can let her go. For all you know she could be packing heat in that designer blouse." I whispered the last part to him. Jacob let her go, albeit begrudgingly.

Alice made a little "hmph" sound and fluffed her hair a little bit before leading me upstairs. Good lord, what was I getting myself into? She opened a door and I walked straight into Paris Hilton's closet. I'm serious. Everything was pink. It was terrifying.

Alice was already chattering away, oblivious to my horror. "Bella never lets me dress her up, and then Edward told me you would love to play dress up with me, and I was so glad-"

I had to cut her off there. "Wait, wait. _Edward_ said that I would consider this a fun activity?"

"Yup!" She chirped, already going to pick out some grotesque ensemble to torture me with.

"What a prick! Maybe you should play dress up with _him_." There was laughter downstairs, but I was too busy trying to get out of playing doll with Alice to pay much attention to it. Maybe, if she goes deep enough into that closet, I can make a run for it a get to the Rabbit quick enough to make a speedy getaway. Not without flipping Edward off on the way out, though.

As if she was anticipating my actions, Alice grabbed me right before I was about to run through the door. Now, I consider myself to be in shape, but _damn_! Let me tell you, Alice must be hiding some serious muscles in those twiggy little arms of hers.

She had me dressed and in a makeup chair using some weird kung-fu move straight out of a Jackie Chan movie. Her little arms were flying all over the place caking layer after layer of makeup on my face. Seriously, man. If one day scientists figure out how to combine Ritalin and speed to create a time-and-space-continuum-bending _super drug_, they should name it Alice Cullen.

If I wasn't so disoriented, I would probably be frightened. "And… finished! Okay, you can look now." She said, pulling me up out of the chair so I could stare into the floor-length mirror hanging conveniently behind me.

"Woah." She had me done up in some red, strapless knee length number. I looked pretty damn classy. I mean, completely inappropriate attire for just a Tuesday afternoon, but still… woah.

She giggled. "I know, right! I knew the minute I saw you Sky, that this dress was just _perfect_ for you. I mean… you look like a blonde Audrey Hepburn." Alright, that was a little far.

"Well, this is great and everything, but it's a little too late for me to pick out a prom dress. A couple years late." Prom. God, why did I bring that up? Biggest mistake of my- never mind. Not the time.

"Of course it's not for that! Didn't Edward tell you? He was asked to play his compositions at the opening of Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. It's a black-tie event, I'm sure you need a new dress."

That makes sense. Excuse my initial stupidity. "I'm invited?" I asked.

She literally bounced with impatience. "I can't believe my brother hasn't told you yet. Yes! You're invited. Now go downstairs so I can show everyone my masterpiece." She exclaimed, ushering me out of the room.

I took a second to survey the scene downstairs before they took notice of our presence. Kelsey and Carlisle (the father) seemed to be avidly discussing something at the corner table. I heard a lot of long mathematical terms being thrown around. Emmett and Jasper played video games on the large television while the blonde sat with them looking bored as hell. What was her name again? Something with a flower- no, a rose… Rosemary? No. Rosaline? Maybe… eh, whatever. Rose-something. The mother, Esme seemed to have disappeared into the kitchen while Bella and Edward sat at the piano. Jacob, sat on the couch, looking tense.

"Everyone look!" Alice demanded, consequentially drawing everyone's attention away from their current task and towards me. My eyes were immediately drawn to Jacob's ones, which darkened as his jaw dropped and he scanned my figure up and down. I stifled a giggle. And then Edward's snarky voice decided to comment.

"Wow Sky. You look like a real girl." I stared at his smug expression for a moment before breaking out into overdramatized fake tears of joy.

"Like… eh ma gawd Edward! I- I think that's like, totally the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." I said in my best valley girl voice while fanning my face and pretending to blink away waterworks.

He turned back to Bella. "And just like that it's gone."

I rolled my eyes, dropping the act. "Whatever, bro. Chill it with the half-assed insults."

"My insults are great."

"Why do you talk like that?" Emmett interrupted, having paused his game.

I frowned. "Talk like what?"

"He means like you're in a frat-house, Kai." Kelsey put in from behind me.

I shrugged, unaffected. "I don't know. Why are your biceps bigger than my face?"

He grinned, seemingly pleased by my retort. "Touché, young one." He stated before going back to his game. It looked like Grand Theft Auto and I really, really wanted to play because I kick serious ass at GTA, but I also really, really wanted to go talk to Jacob. Okay, okay. Flirt with Jacob. I wanted to go _flirt_ with Jacob. God.

But instead, I got to do neither. Because a certain Cullen decided to call me over to the piano bench. Call me over. Like I was his maid or some shit. Two guesses on which Cullen I'm talking about.

"Can I help you Edward?" I asked as Bella excused herself so she could go check on "Renesmee". Don't know who that is. Sounds like the name of one of those big white fluffy Persian cats. Maybe Bella's a closeted cat-lady.

"I heard about Benaroya. Congrats."

He smiled sheepishly. "Thanks. You still play, right?"

I shrugged. "Haven't for a while." A while meaning: 'haven't played since Edward disappeared'.

He frowned, the smile dropping off his face. "Why not?"

"I don't own a piano anymore. It cost too much to fly the other one over from Italy."

He got up, spreading his arms out and offering the open piano bench to me. "Come on, let's see how much you remember."

I sat down reluctantly, cracking my fingers before stretching them over the keys. "What should I play?"

"Whatever you remember."

I racked my brain, eventually coming up with one of the songs he taught me in Italy. My fingers struggled to find the first chord, but after that it was pure muscle memory. Esme came out of the kitchen while I was playing, looking shocked. I finished the piece without screwing up too badly, so I was proud of myself.

"You played my song!" Esme exclaimed, looking between Edward and me.

"Huh?" I asked intelligently.

"That's my song. Edward wrote it for me. It's called _Esme_. How did you know that?"

I stared at Edward accusingly as he stood looking guilty. "You told me that song was untitled."

Esme wasn't upset. "That's wonderful Skylar! What else can you play?"

"What about the piece we wrote together in Italy?" Edward suggested.

"That was a duet." I reminded him.

"Yeah, scoot over." He demanded.

"Woah," I said, holding up my hands like a crossing guard. "Slow down. I am not that kind of girl. Don'cha think you should at least take me on a date first?" I joked.

He rolled his eyes. "Just move over Sky."

I smirked, but complied, sliding over to the end of the bench, up a few octaves in the piano. Edward nodded to me and I started playing as he joined in. The piece was soft, and fairly simple, but it had this running, powerful deep beat that underlined the whole song, capturing the higher notes halfway through so it could take center stage. And then slowly… it dissipated, leaving nothing but a few soft chords higher up the piano that kind of left the song dangling, instead of a true ending. It really was a good piece.

"That was beautiful. What's it called?" Esme asked, awe evident.

Edward and I exchanged a look before shrugging simultaneously. "We could never decide."

"What about 'Dawn'?" Bella suggested as she glided gracefully down the stairs, her golden eyes glowing.

Edward's eyes lit up in a similar fashion. "That's perfect, love. Don't you think, Sky?"

Eh, it's not the worst I've ever heard. Not the best though either. I didn't have the heart to tell either of them that, though. I'm pretty sure Bella could have suggested we name it "Tuna Fish" and he would have had a parallel reaction. So I just nodded and smiled convincingly.

If Edward had noticed my insincerity, he didn't comment on it. "I was working on a new piece, can I get your input on it?" Edward asked as his wife went to go talk to Jacob. I regarded the pair of them suspiciously for a second before nodding towards Edward. He started to play the piece, but I honestly could barely pay attention to it- I was too focused on Jake and Bella.

The piece cut off at an awkward time- stopping completely. "That's all I have so far, what do you think?" Edward asked while I worked on trying not to stare too hard into Jake's back so I wouldn't burn holes into him.

"Too happy." I responded immediately, voicing my initial reaction.

He barked out a laugh. "Gee, tell me how you really feel. Not every song has to be slow and moody."

I frowned, having a moment where I knew what I wanted to say, just not how to say it. "No, I know. Not this one though. I'm not saying to make it sad… just that it's too happy. See, like at this part, here-" I said, pointing to the sheet music. "Make these chords minor. There. More dramatic, but still happy. People don't take pieces seriously if they're too happy." I stated.

He looked at me, astonished. "Wow… you're right."

I smirked at his unintentionally offensive surprise. "Yes, it's been known to happen, now and again."

"Skylar! We got to go; Matt is going to be here any minute." Kelsey called from across the room. Wow. It's been that long already? Time flies when you're awkwardly being forced into beautiful clothing by the hyperactive sister of your ex-roommate. Or so the saying goes.

"Really? Okay, let me just go give this dress back to Alice." I said.

Alice heard me and waved her hand dismissively. "No need to do that. Just keep it. I'm too short to pull it off anyway."

My eyes widened. "I… I can't take this! This dress probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. People shouldn't give me nice things." I argued. "I'm not very responsible."

"Nonsense. You'll take very good care of the dress, I know it!"

I fidgeted a little uncomfortably. No way of getting out of it now, I suppose. "Erm, thanks Alice. This is pretty awesome."

Kelsey came walking back to the room with Jacob in tow. She stopped to look once over Carlisle's shoulder. He was looking frustrated with a piece of paper in front of him. "You just need to put it in standard form, then apply the Quadratic Formula, extract the discriminant and solve for x." She said, plucking the pen out of his hand and scribbling on the paper. "There. Now it's negative so you have imaginary conjugates. Now you can pretty much graph it." She explained. It probably sounded like the simplest thing ever in her mind.

Carlisle stared harder at the paper as if that would make him understand her gibberish. "But… what about the Domain?"

"The Domain remains all real numbers for Quadratic Equations. Good luck Carlisle! It was nice meeting you." She said, leaving him with the unsolved equation. Poor guy.

We all said our goodbyes then headed out. I was worried for my safety on the way home. Jacob didn't look at the road once. He just stared at me the whole time. I had to bite my tongue to keep the snarky comments at bay.

"Where are you and Matt going to practice?" Kelsey asked as we pulled into Emily's driveway.

I frowned, not having considered it. "Uhm, don't really know. We'll figure something out."

"Hey Sky, isn't that your motorcycle?" Jake asked.

I looked into the driveway to indeed see that my _very expensive _Ducati was parked on the blacktop carelessly. "Motherfucker wasn't kidding!" I exclaimed in surprise. How the hell did he even get my keys?

"I'm right behind you." Said a masculine voice belonging to none other than the aforementioned motherfucker.

"Oh, hello Matthew. Care explaining to me how you happened upon my keys?" I asked suspiciously, crossing my arms.

"Certainly. They were in your apartment." He said, spreading his arms around him as if this were the most logical explanation in the world.

"And pray tell, how did you get the keys to our _apartment_?" I asked with a glance towards Kelsey, who seemed generally unconcerned.

"Well, you _gave _them to me that night you got drunk at Nick's party."

"And you gave them _back_ to me!" I threw my hands up in exasperation.

"I gave them back to you _after_ I made a copy of the key."

"Wha- I… You did… Why!" I sputtered as he casually turned to walk into Emily's house.

"Oh, hey Kelsey." He greeted my raven-haired friend.

"Hey Matt." She said with equal nonchalance, completely ignoring me about to go postal on the both of them in the background.

"By the way, I talked to my Dad. He said y'all don't have to come to class for the rest of the week, but that's as long as he can excuse you from your classes for." Ah, the perks of having a dance partner whose father is the Principle of your college. "Are you ready to go dance Skylar? Or do you need to stomp around some more?"

What a jerk. "Yeah, yeah. Just let me go change."

"Oh, man. Didn't even notice the dress. Are you going to the opera or something?"

"Shut up!"

"I mean, it's nice and everything, but are you sure sneakers are really the best shoe choice?"

"I said shut up!"

"Well, aren't we feisty today? Go change so we can get this over with already princess." I did as he told, not even able to snap back at his smartass remark without validating it.

I quickly changed into spandex shorts and a loose t-shirt with a sports bra underneath. I resisted the urge to slide down the banister instead of almost-tripping down the stairs. "Embry, Embry Embry Embry!" I called upon entering the kitchen and not immediately seeing his presence.

"What what what what?" He repeated back to me.

"Do you know of any large rooms with little to no furniture and preferably a little bit of padding?" I asked.

He frowned, deep in thought. "You mean like a padded room? Like in an asylum?"

Ironically, it fit my description perfectly. "I was thinking more along the lines of a dance studio." I suggested helpfully.

"I have to go pick up Claire from her ballet class at the local high school gym- maybe they'll let you use that." Quil piped in from where he was standing, staring lustfully at the cookie dough Emily was currently making in bulk.

"That'll do. Thanks Quil." I said, picking a piece of cookie dough out of the bowl and expertly dodging the swats from Emily's spatula.

"Sky! Look! Matt brought me my Abstract Algebra book." Kelsey said, holding up the text book and practically exuding excitement. "Now I can study!" She exclaimed.

"Wow Kels… How considerate of him." I said, my enthusiasm level not even close to matching hers.

Quil came up from behind us, twirling keys around his finger. "Ready to go?" He asked.

"I'm taking back my motorcycle." I said, trying to snatch my keys out of Matthew's back pocket. No such luck.

"No you aren't; you owe me. I get it for the week, or I'm telling my dad to rescind his offer." He threatened.

"Ugh! Fine then, I'll just ride with Quil. He's more fun than you anyway." I whined, slamming the car door behind me petulantly as I got into the passenger seat. Matt tailed behind our car as Quil drove to a high school building that looked in desperate need of reconstruction.

A gaggle of little girls all roughly Claire's age stood around outside in their adorable little tutus, waiting for their parents to come pick them up. Or in Claire's case, waiting for Quil. Quil seems strangely enamored with the young girl, especially considering the fact that they have no blood relations that I am aware of.

"Quilly!" Claire screeched, throwing herself into his open and awaiting arms.

"Hey Claire-Bear. How was ballet?" Quil asked as he lifted her into the air.

"It was good, we- Sky!" She said, noticing me finally. "Sky knows, Sky is a ballerina too, right Sky?" She asked in her endearingly innocent little voice.

"That's right. How did you know that Claire?" I asked, confused,

"Jacob said so." She stated matter-of-factly. Quil smirked. "Jacob said you're the prettiest ballerina he's ever seen."

"Jake said that?" I asked, unable to help my blush.

I felt an arm being thrown around my shoulder. I didn't have to turn around to know it was Matt. "Who's this?" He whispered in my ear, gesturing towards Claire. Quil's brow furrowed as he glanced between our exchange and Matt's arm.

"Who are _you_?" Claire asked rather rudely.

"I'm Matthew. Sky's friend." He said, grinning at her.

"Matt's a dancer like me." I supplied for the girl.

She laughed as if the simple idea were ludicrous. "Boys aren't ballerinas! Only girls are!"

I cracked up along with her. "You tell him Claire!"

"I'm going to talk with the teacher to see if we can use the gym…" Matt grumbled, walking off.

I expected Quil to leave then, but he just cleared his throat and continued to stand there holding Claire. He looked like he really wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out how.

"Do you need something Quil?" I asked kindly.

"Err… are you and him… dating or something?"

Claire gasped dramatically. "No! You can't like him, you have to like your wolf-" That was all she got out before Quil put his hand over the little girl's mouth and stared pointedly at her, effectively stopping her speech.

"Um, no. Matt and I are just friends… well sometimes we're friends. Sometimes we hate each other." I ignored Claire's comment, passing it off as nothing more than the ramblings of a princess-obsessed six year old.

Quil released a sigh of relief. "Thank _god_." I heard him murmur under his breath.

"Sky!" Matthew called from across the parking lot, giving me a thumbs-up that I assumed meant we were all good to go.

"Got to go Quil, thanks for the ride! See you around Claire." I winked at her before I jogged over to Matt. We walked together into the gymnasium, surprised to find that all the mats remained on the floor from practice.

"Wanna warm up?" Matt suggested. We stretched for a few minutes, before I realized something rather important.

"Oh shit! I forgot my point shoes!" Matt walked over to his bag and dangled a pair from his fingers while smirking.

"You _always_ forget."

"Whatever. Just hand them over smartass." I turned on the radio to a classical music station. The boom box was so old it needed to be kicked a few times before we heard something other than static. As soon as Tchaikovsky came on, blaring so loudly from the speakers that the floor literally vibrated, we started.

* * *

><p>I landed to the ground with a thud. Again.<p>

"Sorry, sorry! Are you okay?" Matt lamented, helping me up.

"Yeah… I just…" I panted. It was so goddamn hot in this place. I had given up on a shirt about a half an hour ago, along with Matt. I stood now in only a sports bra and black spandex. "Need a…water break." I said, trying not to limp as I walked to the water fountain.

Not to sound like a sissy or anything, but that was the _sixth_ time he has dropped me. Now, I may be tough, but I ain't made of steel. I filled up my water bottle and gulped it down greedily. Anyone who says dance isn't a sport is ignorant. I would gladly suggest for them to break in a new pair of point shoes and then maybe revise that statement.

When I got back, Matt was stretching again, his muscles obviously as burning as mine. I offered him my water bottle and he accepted it graciously. We sat in silence for a few minutes, both of us breathing heavily.

"I'm gay!" Matt blurted out suddenly, startling the both of us.

Surprised by his outburst, I stayed silent for a few seconds as the awkwardness grew. "Um… Congrats?"

Matt looked hesitant. "You're… okay with that?"

"It's not like I was hitting on you earlier. Calm yourself."

He was still shocked by my reaction. "I- I've never told anyone before." It wasn't until then that the full weight of the situation came down on me. Matt was _coming out_. To _me_. And I just made a joke about it.

Aw, hell.

"Matt," I started out seriously. "When it comes to your sexual preference, I care about it as much as I should. And that is none. Because I'm not having sex with you, nor do I plan on it. Your being gay doesn't affect the way I see you at all. You're still a jerk. But you're still my friend. Now can we get this practice over with so I can go eat dinner?" I said, trying to change the subject.

I had barely even stood up before Matt wrapped his arms around me in a bone-crushing hug. I could tell that my acceptance had meant a lot to him. I'm sure I was nowhere near the most important person he would tell this news, but I was the first of many. "Thanks Sky." He whispered in an uncommon show of emotion. He was like me in that sense- never on to really open up.

"You're welcome. You can show your appreciation by not dropping me when the music starts." I whispered back.

He snickered and released me, and the moment ended. The boom box came back to life with another kick and we started the routine.

We were two minutes in before the jump. That _one_ jump. The one he _cannot_ make. I tried my hardest to make my body loose, to not tense up and expect the fall like Soryana told me to do. His hands grabbed my waist and lifted me into the air. I began to fall and felt his hands come up where they were supposed to be, and for a second I thought we had it, but then he seemed to wobble and I crashed to the ground yet again.

"Damn it!" I heard him yell. I was still on the floor, having had the wind knocked out of me. "I almost had it- Hey! How the hell did you get in here?"

I felt warm hands searching my body for injury, and I opened my previously squeezed shut eyes to find myself staring at Jacob. "Sky? God, are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" He said frantically as his eyes took me in up and down. He seemed to notice my attire (or lack thereof) and blinked a few times. I think I saw him gulp. Awesome. Now he knows how I feel every time he walks around without a shirt on.

"I repeat: How did you get in here?" Matt said loudly.

He stood up and glared straight at Matthew. "Emily sent me over to ask if you were staying for dinner."

He shrugged. "Eh. I'll probably just drive back home."

I had to interrupt. "No! Not until we get this jump." I said, staggering to my feet. Jacob rushed to help me, his fingers brushing my bare sides ever so slightly in the process.

"Is that safe? I don't think it looked safe Sky. Please don't hurt yourself."

"Yeah," Matt agreed, stretching his bare muscled arms over his head. "We got a lot done today, don't worry about it Kai."

"Just one more time! Please Matthew- just one!" I pleaded.

"My muscles are on fire Skylar! We've both got shit to do tomorrow, do you really want to be sore?" Jacob snorted and we both turned to look at him.

"Got something you want to say Jake?" I asked politely.

He held his hands up, shaking his head. "No, no. I just don't understand how someone could be sore from lifting _you_." I put my hands on my hips, unsure of whether I should be insulted or flattered. "I mean, you've got to be, what, 10 pounds soaking wet?"

My eyebrows rose. "You think you can do better?"

He shrugged cockily. "Well… yea. These muscles aren't just for show."

I looked for consent from Matt, who just rolled his eyes. "If it gets you to shut up then go for it. But I ain't paying for either of your hospital bills."

I shrugged, unconcerned. Jacob seemed confident, however. "So all I have to do is catch you?" He asked.

I coughed back a laugh. "Um, no. It's not quite that simple. But we'll start at square one. So yeah, square one is don't let me crack my skull open all over the high school gym, okay?" I told him happily. He paled considerably.

"Where should I start?" I asked Matthew as I walked to stand opposite to Jacob on the mat.

"Start with your arabesque." He suggested.

"Will you count me off?"

He waited until he could find a beat within the background music before starting. "Five, six, seven, eight." I started two eight-counts before the jump, which hopefully gave Jacob enough time to prepare. Two eight-counts go by pretty damn quickly though. I did a pirouette and positioned myself in front of Jake.

"Put your hands on my waist and lift me up!" I ordered. He did as he was told with surprising ease. He didn't let go though, he just lifted me over his head. Impressive, but not exactly what I wanted.

"Let go! Throw me in the air." I said loudly over the music.

And _damn_ if that boy didn't throw me. I felt like I was soaring through the air as I was literally tossed higher than should be physically possible for someone of my height. All I could think about as I spun around in that split second was how it would hurt like a son-of-a-bitch to be dropped at this height with the terminal velocity I was currently achieving.

But miraculously, warm hands gripped my torso and I didn't hit the ground. He _did_ it. I mean, his hands weren't in the right places and I'm pretty sure his form was atrocious, but he _did_ it. I felt him softly place me on the ground, but not remove his hands quite yet, for which I was grateful. Um, not that I liked his hands there or anything. No… I was just still woozy from the jump.

Yeah, totally.

"That was perfect Jake!" I said rather breathlessly as we stared into one another's eyes.

"Yeah…" He mimicked my tone as his eyes flickered around my face in indecision.

"Perfect? Are you kidding me? That was beginners luck!" Ugh, I had completely forgotten about Matthew. Well there goes that moment.

I stuck my tongue out at him maturely. "Jealous!" I accused.

He pushed my shoulder playfully. "Whatever, Kai. I'm going back to Seattle. Call me if you need anything princess." He said, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking out the double doors, no doubt to go to _my_ Ducati. Still bitter about that.

"Come on. Let's go before Embry eats everything." Jake said before taking my hand and leading me out right behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm back from my month long sabbatical y'all… sorry about that. Exams are a bitch. Especially French. Not to insult any French people. I have an important announcement! I'm making a new story- a Seth/OC story, and I'm looking for someone to pre-read the first chapter for me. Not exactly a beta (though that would be awesome), just someone who I can show the first chapter to and hear their suggestions. PM me if you're interested. I really like it. It's… different. Well yeah. That's about it. Please review, I love yah :) **


	8. a tshirt

**A big thanks to my beta, MissCoppersMom :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8- a t-shirt<strong>

_Because that's what people do. They leap, and hope to God they can fly, because otherwise you just drop like a rock, wondering the whole way down, why in the hell did I jump? But here I am, Sarah, falling, and there's only one person who makes me feel like I can fly... That's you. –__**Hitch**_

* * *

><p>Over the next couple days I began to learn how exactly the residents of La Push, Washington spent their days. There were constantly boys milling about Emily's house- even at strange hours of the night, I would come to find. I learned this lovely little tidbit of information last night at about 3 am. There were strange noises coming from downstairs, so I, thinking it was a robber, snuck down with my handy-dandy baseball bat… only to find Brady with the fridge door wide open helping himself to Emily's stockpile of lunchmeat. Boy is lucky I didn't just club him over the head for waking me up.<p>

But anyway, the point is, that's what you get when you live in La Push, I suppose. It's like reality television… you never know what's going to happen next. I had gotten to know everyone a little better, because they were always traveling together like a flock of birds. You couldn't hang out with one of them without the rest being all up in your grill. However, one person who had seemed to make himself scarce over the past few days was Paul.

The only time he actually bothered to show up was whenever Emily was serving food. Even then, he would just walk in, eat, and walk out- no snarky comments, no eye rolling- heck, he didn't even make eye contact with anyone. He just wolfed down his food then left.

Of course, he always wears his perpetual scowl, but recently, he's gotten dark circles under his eyes to accent his generally uninviting aura. Part of me thinks I should feel bad for the guy, but then that part of me remembers what a douche he is and it says screw him. If he's having issues maybe he should take it up with one of his many lady friends because he ain't getting any sympathy from me.

"Leah and Collin, you're on patrol tonight." Sam reminded the two of them at the dinner table as he took another huge scoop of mashed potatoes. I never really understood what exactly it was that they did on these "patrols". Jared said they were authorities of some sort, but even that wasn't very enlightening. I asked Embry once what they were protecting La Push from and he gave me some vague, unhelpful answer. Granted though, I had asked him while he was playing X-box, so he was slightly distracted.

Both Leah and Collin groaned, giving me the impression that patrols weren't exactly the most coveted honor. "I can take over for Collin." Paul grunted, picking at his food like a child instead of actually eating it.

"Yes!" Collin said, pumping his fist in the air.

Leah sneered at him. "Oh yeah, give the kid off why don't you? God forbid you actually do _me_ a favor now and then."

Paul stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork murderously. "_Sorry_ if I'm just not in the mood to babysit the pup tonight Leah. At least you know how to shut up. Patrolling with him is like patrolling with a middle-aged woman." He said sarcastically, not looking up from his food. Collin seemed generally unfazed, preoccupied with planning his "rager" of a Saturday night with Brady.

Sam frowned. "You've been taking on too many patrols lately Paul. Maybe you should get some rest."

"Or get a therapist." I whispered into Kelsey's ear. I could tell she was paying rapt attention to the conversation, as was I. She coughed on her food, trying to hold back laughter at my suggestion.

Paul's fork clattered to the plate and there was dead silence. He scrubbed his face tiredly with his hands and breathed deeply. Embry coughed pointedly, and almost the whole table (with the exception of me, Kelsey, and Paul) turned to glare at him. "Hey, just sayin'." He defended, even though he had, in fact, not said a word.

"Paul, will you come help me wash dishes dear?" Emily asked, getting up and collecting a couple of the boy's plates. They protested, complaining that they weren't finished, but she quickly silenced them with a 'mother look'.

"Kels and I can clean up out here." I offered as the other, uncivil people left to go to play video games, leaving their mess for poor Emily to clean up herself. I resisted the urge to yell at them to quiet down in the other room… _Jesus_ this place was turning me more and more into the mom-type. It was unnerving; the effect La Push was having on me.

I could only hear a little bit of Emily's hushed lecture to Paul in the kitchen. At least, I thought it was a lecture. But then I realized her tone was far too sympathetic, far too soft for it to be a scolding. The boys were too loud in the other room, but I managed to catch the words "fight it", "impossible" and "accept". When taken out of context, they were practically meaningless.

"What do you think they're talking about in there?" Kelsey whispered to me as we piled the dirty plates and silverware.

"Not a clue." I sighed, disappointed.

Kelsey sighed similarly before changing the subject. "I'm going to be so behind when we get back to school. I'll need so much extra tutoring." She complained.

I snorted. "Yeah…_tutoring_."

"What was that?" She asked accusingly, hands on her hips.

"What was what?" I asked innocently.

"No, no. _That_. I know that tone."

"What tone?"

"Your 'Oh, look at me, I'm so witty I made a vague innuendo' tone." She said, trying and failing to imitate my voice. Sometimes I think she knows me so well it scares me.

"Nothing. It's just that we all know that your 'tutoring' lessons with John are not real 'lessons'." I said, accenting the words "tutoring" and "lessons" by adding finger quotes.

"I'm not following. You're going to have to be a little more specific than that Kai." She demanded.

I rolled my eyes. "Please. You've been in love with John since freshman year."

I noticed that there was, yet again, a deafening silence. Kelsey was a bright red. She dropped the volume of her voice significantly to prevent prying ears. "There is a difference between a small crush and in _love_, Skylar." She sniffed indignantly.

"Yup." I agreed, completely unconcerned with anyone overhearing. "And you my friend, are most certainly the second one."

"You're delusional!" She hissed at me. Ooh touchy, touchy. Someone seems a bit defensive.

I started singing immaturely, just to piss her off. "Kelsey and John, sittin' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Really Skylar? What are we, five?"

"You love him. Admit it." I whispered. Still, literally _no_ noises coming from anywhere else in the house. I was starting to wonder if they had left. "Admit it or I'm going to call him right now and tell him."

"Fine! Fine, I'll admit it, whatever y-" She exclaimed before she was cut off. Somewhere in the kitchen, someone dropped a plate. The shattering sound of breaking glass pierced the air, startling both of us. Not a second later, the front door slammed shut loudly.

"Paul! Paul, wait!" Emily called.

Kelsey and I rushed to the window only quick enough to see him running towards the bleak, dark forest while simultaneously whipping his shirt off over his head with one hand. The rain blurred his figure, making it only possible to see a few feet out the window before darkness enveloped the whole scene.

I was conscious of Emily coming to stand beside us. "What's wrong with him?" Kelsey whispered, showing an incredible amount of sympathy considering he had come barely short of publicly humiliating her mere days ago.

Emily sighed. "It's… nothing. Paul is going through a tough time… I know he can seem rude at times, but I think it would mean a lot to him if you could be nice and… patient with him. He'll come around."

Kelsey nodded thoughtfully, staring out into the general direction of his disappearing form. She looked out for only a moment longer before going to help Emily clean up the broken dish.

* * *

><p>"Skylar!" Embry's voice bellowed from downstairs. "Get your ass down here, we have things to do!"<p>

I huffed in annoyance before yelling back at him. I had to go back to Seattle _tonight_. I was heartbroken.

Despite the near-constant rain, the rip-off of a beach, and their abnormally intelligent wolf population, La Push was quickly becoming my new favorite location. Maybe it was just the people that lived here that make it so great. I'm not sure, but either way, it's upsetting to leave when it feels like I just got here.

Kelsey and I already had to say goodbye to Jared, Kim, Collin, and Brady this morning. We would be leaving before they got back. I mean, even _those_ were hard and I barely even know those four. I can't even begin to imagine what it'll be like to have to say goodbye to Emily, and Embry, and Claire, and… and Jacob…

For who knows how long? Who really _knows_ when the next time I'll be able to visit one of them will be? Even though I've only known them for a week and a half, it feels like it's been much longer that sounds disgustingly cheesy, but it's true.

There was stomping on the stairs and Embry burst into my room not a second later. Boundaries much? "Embry, what are y-" I was cut off when he slung me over his shoulder like a caveman and carried me down the stairs. I squeaked and pounded on his back with my fists.

"Hey! What are you doing?" I yelled as he paraded me around like I was his prized pig or something.

"I'm taking you out! You still have one more cultural La Push activity to experience before you go back to the city." He explained, sitting me down and getting into the driver's seat of his car.

"And couldn't you have just _told _me that? Did you really have to throw me around like a rag doll?" I asked stubbornly, crossing my arms.

"Yup," He grinned, gesturing for me to take a seat on the passenger's side and buckle up. In all honesty, I didn't have that much to do anyway. Kelsey had gone out grocery shopping with Emily about fifteen minutes ago, and when left to my own devices I tend to get bored very easily.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, tapping my fingers on the window impatiently.

"Can't tell you." He refused, shaking his head. "It would ruin the surprise."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be a noob, just tell me where we're going." I said, trying not to sound ticked-off. I hate surprises.

His face screwed up as he tried not to laugh. "Did you just call me a noob?" He asked, disbelieving.

I swatted him on the arm. "Eyes on the road." I grumbled.

He chuckled for the remainder of the five minute drive. We pulled into the dirt lot right outside the beach. "Ugh, Embry. This beach is horrible, can't we go someplace else?" I complained.

He tugged on my arm. "No Sky, it's seventy degrees outside today, this might be the last time of the season we can do this."

"Do what?" I asked, confused. It didn't help my overall comprehension of the situation when he started leading me away from the beach and into the forest beside it. It wasn't until then that I really started to consider the possibility that Embry was a serial murderer and he needed a warm day so he could lure me into the woods and chop me into little pieces.

"You'll _see_." He emphasized, leading me deeper into the forest.

I halted to a stop, my feet digging into the dirt and making marks as he continued to uselessly pull on my arm. "Embry, you're starting to freak me out. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where the hell you're taking me." I stated defiantly.

Embry the serial killer wasn't put on the spot for too long, because Quil and Seth soon popped their heads out of the trees. This reassured me. Seth was much too nice to kill anyone. "Hey, what's taking so long?" Quil asked Embry. "It's getting kind of windy, let's do this before the sun goes behind a cloud or something."

"Where's Jake?" Embry asked.

"He's already down there."

Embry turned to me. "Are you going to walk down or do I have to drag you?" He said. I considered my options. While I was no longer fearful for my life, god only knows how long these boys want me to trek in the forest for. Walking, if at all possible, should preferably be avoided.

"Can you give me a piggy back ride?" I propositioned him.

He groaned. "Rock paper scissors! I win, you carry me- you win and I walk." I pleaded. Quil and Seth had already left us and our childish behavior behind.

"No! That's not fair." He whined.

"You're just afraid you're going to lose." I teased over my shoulder at him as I started to walk away.

"Fine!" He said, spinning me around so that I was forced to face him as he glared at me with his hand in a vertical fist. I smirked. I can play this kid like a fiddle. "Rock, paper, scissors- shoot." He commanded. My paper easily beat his rock.

After much arguing and semantics on the exact rules of the game and the true feasibility of paper being an effective shield from thrown rocks, he conceded. I victoriously climbed onto his back and he walked for a good fifteen minutes while carrying me, complaining all the way.

"This is what happens when you lose rock paper scissors in the real world Embry." I explained as he huffed and puffed up a hill. "There are dire consequences."

Embry rounded a corner and I saw three recognizable figures about thirty yards away- Quil, Seth, and Jacob. They seemed to be arguing about something. They were acting like stereotypical boys, rough-housing and shoving one another around. The next thing I know, Quil gives Seth a push with a little more momentum and he disappears over what I assumed was a straight drop to the ocean. I let out a girly yelp and hopped off Embry's back, running over to them to make sure Seth wasn't dead.

I ignored the laughing of the other boys so I could peer over the edge. I got there just in time to see Seth's head bob up from the water, apparently unharmed. I then turned to deal with Embry, Jacob and Quil, who were just beside themselves watching me give myself a near heart-attack.

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled as they doubled over in laughter. "This isn't funny! I could have just been a murder witness." Seriously, if any of these idiots were to go to trial for the murder of poor Seth there is no way I would ever lie for them in court.

"It's called cliff diving Skylar," Jacob explained, finally calming down. "It's a past time, not a crime."

I absorbed this new information, regarding the boys in front of me in a new light. "So you're adrenaline junkies? _Sweet_…" As you've probably gathered from what I've told you about my street-racing, I love me some adrenaline. In fact, I was a _boy_ scout instead of a girl scout when I was a kid, because they got to do all the cool stuff like go to amusement parks and go white water rafting while the girl scouts were learning how to knit and sell cookies. I'm telling you, the whole system is sexist. But I'm getting off topic.

"You could say that." Quil said with a shrug.

"When do I get to try?" I asked, my heart already pounding in anticipation as I peeked over the edge again.

"Never." Jacob instructed, pulling me away from the end of the cliff.

"What!" I exclaimed, annoyed and frustration. "What was the point of bringing me all the way out here then?"

"So we could _show_ you cliff diving and then you could go swimming." Jacob explained patiently.

"Gee, how _generous_ of you. Maybe Claire will let me borrow her rubber ducky also." I said sarcastically.

Jacob sighed. "It's not _safe_, Skylar."

I scoffed. "That has never stopped me before."

Jacob wasn't done teaching me the rules of cliff-diving safety, however. "The one time Bella tried to do if she almost killed herself!"

I laughed out loud at this. I don't know Bella very well, but it something I could see her doing. "Okay, _one_." I said, ticking the number off on my finger. "I am _so_ much cooler than Bella in _so_ many ways, so don't make comparisons between the two of us. And _two_, even if in some freak accident, I _do_ die, how awesome of a death would that be? On my grave, it would just say 'Here lies Skylar Thompson, a Badass Motherfucker.'" I said, using humor to lighten the situation a bit. Quil and Embry found it funny, but alas, Jacob did not.

"Oh, Jesus Jake. Just let the girl go once. Even if something happens, we'll be right here.  
>Quil said, rolling his eyes.<p>

Jacob groaned in frustration. "Fine! But she has to go on one of the smaller cliffs for the first time." He said stubbornly, pointing to a ledge below us that was literally no more than ten feet above the surface of the water.

"Wow," I said bitterly. "Man, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet. Do you have any pebbles I can jump off of instead?" I suggested with my usual brand of biting sarcasm.

"Just ignore him Skylar. You can jump from wherever you want." Embry said supportively while patting me on the back.

"Ugh, wait." I said, hitting my hand to my forehead. "I don't have a bathing suit."

"Seriously, Embry?" Quil reprimanded. "That was your one job: bring Skylar to the cliffs."

"You didn't specify she would need her swimsuit!" Embry defended.

Jacob looked exceedingly smug. "Too bad. Guess you can't go cliff diving then. Oh well, maybe another time."He said, smirking at me.

His attitude was what did me in. Screw it, I'll jump fully clothed. Anything to get that uppity smirk off the boy's usually-pretty face. I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "I'll just do it with clothes on. It's not a big deal." I said. Jake frowned.

Neither Quil nor Embry seemed to care. "Eh, whatever. Doesn't matter to me." Embry said decidedly before both he and Quil stripped off their shirts and jumped over the rocky edge.

This left Jacob and I alone in the cleared area. Jacob, who already lacked a shirt, shifted nervously from foot to foot and looked as if he were resisting the urge to jump out, grab me, and pull me to safety.

"Wanna go down together?" I asked in a moment of mercy, offering him my hand. His eyes widened at me offer before he scrambled over to reach for me. As his large hand engulfed my small one yet again, I shocked myself with the realization that his warmth had become not only comforting, but _familiar_ within the past week.

I gave him a quick smile before I counted down. At _one_, I jumped, pulling him down after me.

The air rushed past me and I felt a bit like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. I barely had time to scream before I collided with the surface of the water. Even with the force of the fall and the rushing tide, Jacob never once let go of my hand.

My vision was blurred in the cold, salty water, but I could see Jacob's head bob into the air a moment before mine. "Are you okay?" He panted, brushing a few wet strands of hair away from my face. I'm pretty sure my grin was bright enough to light the streets of Manhattan.

"That… was awesome!" I exclaimed, treading in the barely-above-freezing water. My teeth clattered a little bit, but I couldn't care less. Cliff diving? New favorite past time. "Can we go again?"

Jacob's answering smile was dazzling. "Sure," He agreed, finally untangling our fingers so we could swim to the shore. Embry, Quil and Seth all stood at the rocky beach line shaking the water out of their hair like dogs, their nearly-identical cargo shorts weighted down with water and dripping onto the sand.

Although I probably am not one to talk at the moment. I'm sure I looked like a drowned rat with my t-shirt clinging to me and my wet gym shorts handing off my hips. I ran my fingers through the roots of my hair to the ends experimentally, and sure enough it tangled and caught more than once. So I decided to give Embry a break and not comment on his disheveled appearance.

"Come on, let's go!" I said impatiently while walking a head up the path that I recognized as the same one Embry took me on.

"Jake, it's gonna rain." Quil said, nodding his head towards the dark grey clouds that were already gathering together to block the sun. There was an ominous crash of thunder in the far distance.

"No! Jacob, one more time, it'll be quick, I promise." I pleaded with him. He looked between Quil and I, torn.

Finally, he conceded. "I'm just going to go with Sky one last time. Meet you back at Emily's." He said to Quil with an upwards nod. The three of them departed in their usual rowdy fashion, barreling one another down and challenging the others to a race home.

Likewise, I raced Jacob back up to the top of the cliff. He beat me miserably. By the time we got up, it had started to drizzle lightly. Jake looked out at the water cautiously. "Sky, this is a bad idea."

"Jacob, please, c'mon. Nothing bad is going to happen." I persuaded, tugging him to the edge again. I knew he was going to argue with me, so before he had the opportunity to even open his mouth, I squeezed his hand tightly like before and threw caution to the wind by jumping over. I'm pretty sure that it was only out of pure surprise that he followed.

By the time we hit the surface the rain had already begun to pick up, the drizzle turning into a soft, inconsistent pattering of raindrops. I pushed out of the water, panting for air. I wasn't able to hold onto Jake's hand this time, but thankfully, I'm a strong swimmer.

I mean, _hello_, I grew up at the Naval Academy for Christ's sake, it's virtually impossible for me _not_ to grow up a strong swimmer. I got to the shore and wrapped my arms around my body, trying to conserve whatever heat I had left. Now that it was almost steadily raining, I was just about frozen solid. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms for friction.

Suddenly, I was pulled into a bone-crushing hug. "_Skylar_." Jacob breathed into my ear. I felt the need to catch my breath, though I wasn't winded from the swim. "Don't _do_ that to me. I'm so sorry. Your hand, it's just so small and it slipped out of mine and I couldn't see you in the water, and-" Jacob ramble, not letting go of me.

"Oh my god, shut up." I ordered, spinning around in the hug so I was pressed up against his bare chest. "Jake, I'm okay. Stop apologizing." I leaned into his warmth and my shivering quickly subsided. Jacob seemed to notice my blue lips.

"Are you cold? Here, take my shirt. I don't want you to get sick." He said, jogging over to a tree where his grey shirt say, dry and protected from the rain. He must have discarded it there before he walked up to the cliffs.

I accepted it graciously. It was still warm and it smelled like him. Jacob blinked a few times and stared at me in my new attire. When it became obvious that he wasn't going to speak up, I did instead.

"Do you know the way back to the parking lot? Embry's car should still be there." This seemed to snap him out of it.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. We can, um. We can walk through the forest- it's drier." He suggested, beginning to lead the way.

"So are you driving Kels and I back to Seattle?" I asked, making pleasant conversation as I navigated through the forest in bare feet. I'm assuming that the five dollar pair of flip-flops I left on the top of the cliffs are gone forever. Oh well, who cares?

At the mention of Seattle, Jacob's mood seemed to diminish. He nodded silently and kicked at a rock on the ground.

I let the somber subject drop. The little bit of rain that managed to penetrate through the thick foliage was making the ground muddy and starting to dampen Jacob's t-shirt. I will be happy when we're back in the car where at least there's heat.

However, when we emerged from the cover of the trees into the familiar dirt parking lot, there was no car. "Are you serious?" I asked no one in particular as I scanned the empty lot. "That jackass took the car." I stomped my foot and huffed immaturely as rain poured down on me, soaking me to the bone yet again.

Over the pounding of raindrops, I could hear Jacob chuckle humorously. "_What_ about this situation strikes you as _funny_ Jacob Black?" I asked him venomously.

He smirked infuriatingly. "Nothing. You're pretty cute when you're angry, though."

_Cute?_

He thinks I'm… cute?

I'm not sure whether I should be flattered or annoyed. "Yeah, well Embry's not gonna think I'm too cute when I have my foot up his ass." I grumble instead, trying to preserve my own body heat by wrapping my arms around my torso and hugging tightly.

I sighed loudly again. "Man, I really don't feel like walking back." I complained.

Jacob's mouth quirked up into a half-smile. "So then don't." He suggested, shrugging in the rain.

Before I could tell him to start making some sense, he walked over and scooped me up into his arms, holding me like a groom does his bride. _Apparently, _my one complaint was enough permission to manhandle me. Not to sound ungrateful, though.

"Jacob!" I squealed, unable to stop the giggle that escaped my throat.

"Hang on sweetheart." He said coyly, winking. I couldn't help but blush at the term of endearment. "It's a twenty minute walk, I can't have you lagging behind."

I hit his chest with the arm that wasn't wrapped around his neck to support me. Hey, and while we're on the topic of chests here, I'd like to point out that I'm currently pressed up against Jacob's bare abs. Yeah, not a big deal or anything…_sarcasm_.

Jacob was walking at a fast pace through the rain, probably so neither of us got sick. I decided to busy myself with counting his ab muscles. It was kind of hard to see with the water, so I ran my finger over the curves around the outline of each one. It didn't escape my notice that his entire stomach tightened when my finger made contact with his skin.

"Skylar," His voice was strained. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Skylar. I can walk, or you can touch my chest- I can't do both."

My eyebrows rose and I tried to hide my evil smirk as I looked up at him with deceptively innocent eyes. "I was counting your abs." I explained.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously but playfully and I could tell he could see right through my little façade. He played along, however. "Well that's great Sky. How about you do that later, when I'm not carrying you, okay?" He said, rolling his eyes at me.

I pursed my lips. "Do I _distract_ you, Jacob?" I teased.

He maintained his composure, but I could sense an undercurrent of breathiness in his tone. "Very much so Skylar." He admitted.

I reached up and ran my fingers through his wet hair a few times just to fluster him. His eyes closed and he stopped walking. He slowly raised his hand to grasp mine and wrapped it back around his neck to support me. "Kai, I'm serious. Unless you want me to drop you, you're gonna have to control yourself." He said, breaking into a small smile as his voice quavered revealingly at the end.

I grinned, but let it be. I have a little bit of mercy for the poor guy. "Jake, there's no way you're going to be able to carry me all the way back to Emily's." I said, trying to convince him to put me down.

He beamed down at me arrogantly, seemingly relieved for the change of topic. "Watch me." He challenged.

I tried to wriggle out of his grasp but he merely repositioned himself and continued walking. I sighed in frustration. Now that I wasn't allowed to piss him off I was very bored. "How do you even know your way around here anyway?" I asked, confused. I had just realized that there was no path that he appeared to be following-it was just trees as far as the eye could see. It didn't seem to worry or faze him.

He shrugged. "I don't know, how do you know your way around the city?"

"That's different," I defended. "There are signs and stuff around the city."

He shrugged again, offering no further explanation. I merely chalked it up to another one of the strange abilities of the La Push natives.

Sure enough, within minutes, we rounded the corner and the trees opened up straight into Emily's backyard.

"Impressed?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mildly." I admitted.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Kelsey's voice interrupted his response. "Sky! There you are; it's two o'clock already! We have to go if we want to beat rush hour traffic." She yelled over the rain, the bit of overhang from the roof shielding her from the harsh pound of water.

I nodded to her before turning back to Jacob. He looked about as down as I felt. "I don't want to go." I whispered to him, looking up through rain-soaked lashes into his endless brown eyes.

"I don't want you to go." He admitted.

I wrapped my arms around his torso and hugged him, his grey shirt clinging to me like a second skin. Kelsey called me again and I released him. "You're driving me home?" I confirmed again.

He swallowed and tucked my hair behind my ear before nodding. I gave him a small smile before going into the house to say my goodbyes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the late update, but this chapter is pretty long. Just so you all know, I put my Seth/OC story up, so if you all could go and read it that would mean a lot to me! Thanks :) tell me what you think about this chapter. Love yah!**


	9. a bloody nose

**Thanks again to **MissCoppersMom, my beta!****

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><p><strong>Chapter 9- a bloody nose<strong>

_It will be really easy to stop seeing him, because... I'm not. __**–You've Got Mail**_

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><p>"Come and visit me sometime?" I asked Jacob, stalling as we stood in the front of my apartment complex. Kelsey had already walked up to put her bags away. She said it was because she was tired, but I suspected that it might be because she wanted to give us some privacy. Either way, I was grateful.<p>

Jacob shifted on his feet, looking reluctant to get back into his car and drive away. Good to know the feeling wasn't one-sided. "Yeah, of course." He muttered. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to leave on his own accord, I took matters into my own hands.

"I should go. I have class tomorrow morning, and I need to get ready…"

"Oh, yeah! Sorry. I'll- I guess I'll just go, then." He said, walking away.

"Jacob!" I called, unable to stop myself from laughing at his awkwardness. "Here's my number" I said, scribbling down my cell phone number on a scrap of paper I fished out from my bag. I handed it to him and he took it reverently, as if it held the answer to solving world hunger. "Call me." I suggested.

I surprised both of us by instinctively wrapping my arms around his torso to pull him into a hug. The heat from his body protected me from the brisk October air and I can honestly say that I have no idea how long we stood there. It could have been twenty seconds, it could have been twenty minutes. All I know is that when he finally pulled away, I knew it was time. He actually had to leave now.

You would think that with three older brothers in the military, I would get used to bidding people farewell. It isn't exactly my first rodeo when it comes to this stuff. Something about leaving Jacob felt so very… _wrong_, however. It was so early in our relationship, though, and everything seemed to be moving really fast, so it's probably for the best.

We gave each other one last goodbye before he got into his now-iconic red Rabbit and drove away. I hesitated for only a moment more before I went back upstairs to my apartment where Kelsey patiently awaited my return.

"Well?" She asked, sounding amused.

"Well _what_?" I repeated, feigning annoyance as I went to unpack my things.

"Ugh!" She groaned, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. "I gave you your privacy, the _least_ you can do is tell me if he kissed you or not."

I closed the drawer and averted my eyes to the floor, not wanting to look at her for fear she would see my obvious disappointment. "Fine. He didn't kiss me."

There was a pause and I could tell that what I was hiding from her in my eyes was all too apparent in my voice. "Well then he's stupid." She consoled lovingly,

I tried to shrug indifferently. "Whatever. Remember, the locksmith is coming tomorrow morning at eight." I reminded her, trying to change the subject.

"I won't be here. I have statistics class early in the morning."In accordance with my father's demands, we were getting our locks changed. I was also doing it so that I could have the peace of mind knowing Matthew no longer had a key.

We mulled over what our schedules were for the next week or so, and then sat down for a light dinner- all my cooking, of course. Whenever I allow Kelsey to cook, she tries to slip small but copious amounts of meat onto my plate, hoping I won't notice. It never works.

Kelsey gave me one final word of advice before we went into our separate rooms for bed that night. "Things have a way of working themselves out Sky." She said wisely. "I wouldn't worry about it too much."

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><p>The week flew by at record pace, that's how busy I was. I had school to catch up on, explanations to be made, and over-protective older brothers to placate. Once I re-staked claim on my Ducati, I was able to drive back to the shop and get my Jaguar, where it had been patiently awaiting my return for over two weeks now.<p>

The guys that had worked there insisted that it was "no big deal", which made me suspicious to the fact that they may have taken it for a joyride or two. However, I couldn't find a single scratch to support my theory, so they got off the hook pretty easily.

My brothers were a little harder to deal with than previously anticipated. Tommy was still insistent upon driving up to Seattle to come and see me. I managed to ward him off, but now he's under the impression that as a compromise, I'll be hosting Thanksgiving this year, which is ridiculous for many reasons.

One, because Dad, Tommy, Charlotte, and Brian all live in Annapolis, Maryland, which is the complete other end of the country. Two, my rinky-dink apartment can barely hold Kelsey and I, so there's no way we're going to be able to host a meal for seven people out of it. _Ridiculous_, I tell you.

I have a couple more weeks before I have to deal with that shit though, so I've kind of put it on the back burner of my mind for now.

Currently, however, I wasn't doing a whole lot of anything. It's a Thursday night and I've just gotten home from class. Kelsey usually doesn't get home until, like, ten on Thursdays because she works as a waitress at a café downtown. So I'm all alone. There isn't even anything good on TV.

The only thing to do in this house is sit on the couch, eat popcorn, and wonder why the fuck Jacob Black hasn't called me yet. Seriously. Of all the things that I have to deal with in the past week, him calling would have been a welcome addition.

But no.

The _worst_ part is I don't even have his number. I just gave him mine, but that was under the assumption that the boy would actually _use_ it.

I felt like a crappy one night stand, but that was dumb because we weren't even _anything_, we were just… just… Oh, who am I kidding, we both obviously _liked_ each other so why did he have to go and screw it up by not calling me back?

_Stupid_ boys.

My internalized rage was taken out on my popcorn as I chewed it with increasing ferocity. "Goddamnit!" I yelled to the empty house, beaming a piece of popcorn at the wall.

I face-palmed and sighed deeply. Huh, wait a minute.

I sniffed. The back of my throat tasted metallic.

Shit. I have a bloody nose.

To most people, this is no big deal. To me, it kind of is. Allow me to explain.

I get chronic bloody noses usually about twice a year. _These_ nosebleeds are different from the ones I attain, say, breaking my nose in a fight and having it haphazardly reset by a raging asshole. My dad took me to doctors when I was younger and they all just kinda had different versions of saying the same thing: They don't really have a fucking clue.

So about once every six months, I have a really, _really_ bad bloody nose. Like, _really_ bad. I had to go to the hospital once or twice and get a blood transfusion because I lost so much. Needless to say, it scares the ever-living shit out of my brothers.

I got one once in Italy when Edward was in the flat. He was a real pansy about it. He rushed out of the room like a bat out of hell muttering like a crazy person and didn't come back for like, five days. It was only afterward that he explained to me his deathly fear of blood.

To which I explained that I don't give a fuck if blood makes him turn into a giant fire-breathing dragon, he can't just leave me alone in the apartment so I can _die_. This was part of the reason I was having a minor freak-out currently.

Although it wasn't completely crucial to my survival, it would be extremely beneficial to not be at home alone right now. It had happened before that I've passed out from blood loss and woken up in a hospital bed with needles jammed up both my arms. God only knows what would have happened if Kelsey wasn't there.

I tilted my head back and frantically rushed to the kitchen, hoping I could make some sort of preparation before the nosebleed really started. I felt the counter top, my hand miraculously coming into contact with my cell phone. After situation myself for a minute back on the couch, I scrolled through my contacts, desperately searching for someone I could call.

Immediately, my mind went first to Kelsey. But she was at work, and I knew she was on the hook for missing two weeks. If she ran out during her shift she would undoubtedly lose her job. I knew that if I called her, she would rush over without hesitation, but I would be racked with guilt later. So no Kelsey.

Next was Matthew. He would come, sure, but he has a flight to visit his Mom in Kentucky in a few hours. I never know how long these damn nosebleeds are going to take, so I don't want him to miss his flight because of me.

Worst case scenario, I guess I could call one of my brothers (preferably Alex, the most mellow of the bunch). It's what I did in Italy. I literally just sat there with the phone on speaker for three hours and every once in a while, Alex would go "Hey Sky, you dead?" and I would go "Nope." In the slight chance that I _wouldn't_ answer, he would call 911.

Yeah, that actually wasn't too bad of a system we had going there, but I kind of want to stay on their good side for a while to get them off my back. Having to call them so they can monitor my stability for a few hours isn't really a good way to show my responsibility. Okay, so brothers- definite last resort.

There was one last name on my list as far as good friends that live close by go, but I would rather die a thousand deaths than ever succumb to calling him. Mark. Eugh, gag me with a spoon- the _last_ fucking thing I need is to call him up and pet his ego by asking for help. No way.

All in all, it just wasn't looking good for me right now. I laid my head back on the couch, hoping that in the very least I can wait a while before I have to call one of the candidates on my list.

I tried to take my mind off of it as I steadily drank water bottles and listened to reruns of Tyra Banks' "America's Next Top Model." It was one of the most boring experiences of my life.

I'll spare you all the gory details, but I can tell you that when I hit about the hour mark, _that's_ when I started to freak out over the blood loss. I didn't feel dizzy or light-headed, but I knew from past experience that it was pretty unusual for me to have lost this much blood only an hour in.

I was seriously contemplating calling someone on my list when there was a knock on the door. I groaned. Who the fuck is coming to my house at seven-thirty on a Thursday? Even if I had _wanted_ to get up, I still wouldn't have been able to. Movement was an utterly impossible concept for the next hour or so.

The at first tentative knocking got louder, and it was obvious that whomever it was at the door was very determined to get in. "Skylar?"

Hold up.

I recognize that voice.

What the hell is Jacob Black doing here?

"Skylar, are you okay? Can you please let me in?" Although his voice was firm and sounded calm, I could detect a bit of desperation that tinged the edges.

"Jake, there's a key on top of the doorframe, come in." My voice sounded garbled and rough from the blood coating my throat.

After mine and Jake's little experience with the spare key (or no spare key, as the case may be), I decided to grow a brain cell and start keeping one right outside the door, just in case. Not that it was a problem for Jacob- his solution to locked doors is just a muscled shoulder and a little momentum. Not all of us can be so lucky.

There was a small clicking noise that I deduced was the sound of the lock on my door being slid open. Jacob rushed in not a second later. "Are you okay- I smelled blo-" He was cut off as his eyes surveyed the situation before him, assessing what I'm sure was not a pretty sight.

"Jesus _Christ_." He breathed, coming down to sit next to me. He raised his hands then dropped them, only to repeat the action with hesitancy. His mouth opened and closed for a second before he actually managed to say something.

"What… what _happened_? Did someone _do_ this to you?" He growled the last part, his eyes growing visibly darker before me. "I swear, I'll ki-"

Okay, time to shut down _that_ path of thought right now. "No Jake, nothing happened. I just get chronic bloody noses." I explained quickly.

He stopped shaking. "Oh." He responded lamely, obviously embarrassed by his reaction.

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly while holding the wet rag to my nose. "How long can you stay here? I kind of need a favor." I said, thinking that if he could stay for just half an hour, even, then I wouldn't have to call anyone.

"However long you want me." He replied easily, much to my relief. He looked rather nervous, his hands kept twitching as if he wanted to do something to help, but wasn't sure what.

"Do you…" I felt a little self-conscious, unnecessarily, I'm sure. I don't really know what I'm going to do if he doesn't want to stay. "Do you mind staying for a couple hours or so, just hanging out? Medically, I'm not really supposed to be alone right now." I added the last part, but whether it was an excuse or an incentive, I'm not quite sure.

"Medically?" Jacob echoed.

"Yeah," I started, prepping myself for an explanation. "Chronic bloody noses can cause excessive blood loss. While it doesn't happen often, I've had to go to the hospital once or twice. I just want someone here who can call 911 if I pass out, you know?" It was almost comical how his eyes widened with every passing word.

"Holy shit Sky!" He exclaimed. "You can't… you can't just tell me this now! You know, you have a tendency to downplay your personal injuries." He said, sounding exasperated.

"I do?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes! Can we just go to the hospital now? I'm not a doctor or anything, so it would be safer…" He said, not taking my bait for the change of conversation.

"Jacob," I said reasonably, trying to calm him down. "Can you dial a phone?"

"Yes?"

I clapped my hands together once. "Congrats! You can do exactly as much for me right now as a doctor can. So why don't you just pop a squat over there and make yourself comfy." I would have physically pushed him into the chair myself had I been able to get up.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him run the palm of his hand over his face in frustration before sitting down in the brown pleather recliner. There was silence for a good minute before I couldn't take it anymore and I broke the awkward tension. "So…" I dragged out the vowel.

"So…" He parroted, amusement evident although I could no longer see his face.

I adjusted the rag on my nose before continuing. "Now that you've already admitted to being able to use a phone, would you like to explain my mysteriously empty voicemail? I didn't just write my number down for shits and giggles you know." I chided, the blood loss from my brain apparently causing me to lack any sort of tact.

He groaned. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice." He whined.

I refrained from giving a snotty comment, choosing to hold my tongue instead. I waited patiently for his response.

"Well, you see, I got home, and then I thought it would be weird if I called you in the same night. So I just put the paper in my pocket and went to bed, thinking I was going to call you in the morning. But then when I woke up, um, Embry had taken my… shorts, so-" I interrupted his bullshit story.

"Can you just skip to the park where your dog eats it?" I teased, referring to the overused homework excuse.

He chuckled nervously. "Not too far off from the truth, actually…" I heard him mumble.

I ignored him, continuing on with a theory of my own. "Look dude, either one of two things happened. One, you lost my number. Two, you forgot to call me. If it's the first one, the fess up now and I'll just give it to you again. If it's the second one, then get up off your lazy ass and just call me because I don't give that number out to anybody." I said bitchily.

"The first one." He muttered, but I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"There we go, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" I teased with a roll of my eyes.

I finally let curiosity get the best of me before asking the next question. "Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but what are you doing here?" I asked genuinely.

"Oh! Actually, you left something at Emily's house. I was coming to give it back to you." I heard him get up. There was some rummaging noises in the background before he walked towards me again, this time crouching next to me within my line of sight.

I almost laughed out loud when I saw the item he had returned. "Flip flops?" I asked, humored. I was expecting something expensive, like an iPod or an earring or something, but no- nothing but the really crappy old pair of sandals I wore to the cliffs that day.

"Well yeah," He shrugged, wearing a self-deprecating grin. "Didn't want you to lose them."

"Since when does inexpensive footwear constitute a four hour drive to the city?" I challenged sarcastically.

"Since _now_." He defended.

I laughed finally, unable to contain it any longer. "My, my, we're just _full_ of shitty excuses today, aren't we Mr. Black? Now since I know that no one in their right mind would ever drive across the state to return a pair of _shoes_, why are you _really_ here?" I asked again.

He rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish at being caught. "I just..." He struggled for words. "I wanted to see you."

Taken aback a bit by his honesty, my usual witty commentary seemed to had taken a short commercial break. "Oh." Was my unintelligent response.

Jacob seemed to sense my change in personality and began backtracking. "But, you know, I just- It wasn't really fair, I mean, _Paul_, he had come over even earlier, and _I_, I hadn't gotten to see you at all. I just really wanted to make sure you were okay. And thank _god_ I did come, because obviously-" He was talking so quickly it took me a minute to process his words.

"Wait, what do you mean Paul?"

Jacob looked at me curiously. "Yeah, Paul. He came over a few days ago."

I raised my eyebrows. "Um, no he didn't." I corrected, thinking that I would notice if the overgrown gorilla had step foot in my apartment.

Jacob's brow furrowed and I could tell he was confused. "I don't want to talk about Paul!" I found myself saying, as much to my own surprise as well as Jacob's.

"Okay." He agreed. "What would you like to talk about? The weather's pretty nice. How 'bout that election season, eh? Oh, and did you catch the game against Oklahoma State last night?" He joked, throwing out multiple topics at once.

I smirked. "The weather is horrible, politics are overrated, and yeah, I did see it. Mississippi lost. Like, really, really bad."

His mouth quirked up into an amused half-smile. "You really aren't a glass half-full person, are you?"

I attempted a shrug, but in my lying position on the couch it was near impossible. Thankfully, the light-headedness from the blood loss seemed to have gone away. The last thing I need is for my dad to get a call from the Seattle ER. "You know you can sit down, right?" I prompted Jacob, who was still in his crouching position. I moved my feet from the end of the couch to make room for him to sit.

"Thanks." He said, flashing me his dimpled grin. Cue swoon.

He sat down on the end of the couch and without thinking about it, I unfolded my legs again, resting my feet and calves on his warm lap. Jacob sighed contentedly and folded his hands behind his head, leaning back and closing his eyes. I smiled.

We sat there for a while in silence. I'm not sure how long, but eventually I could feel my nosebleed start to dissipate. I opened my eyes only to see that Jacob had apparently fallen asleep, his heavy breathing and the serene look on his face giving him away.

Not wanting to wake him, I gracefully swung my feet over so they were in front of me. I cautiously stood up. Immediately, I felt dizzy and had to sit back down. Taking a deep breath and removing the rag of now-dry blood from my face, I tried again.

The light-headedness was typical and didn't worry me much. I managed to stay up this time. Walking over to the kitchen, I immediately took a water bottle and drained it in a few large gulps, desperate to get the metallic taste of blood out of my mouth.

I splashed my face with water, getting rid of any leftover blood. I walked back into the living room and bit my lip at the scene in front of me. Jacob had unconsciously shifted in his sleep so that he was outstretched on the couch, one of his muscled arms thrown carelessly over his eyes to block any incoming light.

_Wake him up,_ The logical part of my brain told me. _You don't know if he has to leave soon or not. He might not want to stay the night…_

I knew that waking him up would probably be the right thing to do, but he looked so calm, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I sat back down on the edge of the couch, gently moving Jake's feet out of the way. He didn't bat an eye, and my concern for awaking him was greatly lessened. He's obviously a heavy sleeper.

I curled my legs under me, laying my head back onto the cushion. In reality, it was a pretty big couch- it sat three people. It just goes to show what a giant Jacob is.

I yawned, getting lost in my jumbled thoughts. My eyelids drooped and I struggled to keep them open. For a few minutes, I fought a losing battle with sleep, finally conceding.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There you have it. This was more of a filler-chapter. Things will start to speed up really soon- one, maybe two chapters. But yeah. It should be interesting. Tell me what you think! Do you guys want some more Kelsey/Paul stuff in here too? Love yah, please review :)**


	10. a plate of pancakes

**Thanks to my beta ****MissCoppersMom******

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><p><strong>Chapter 10- a plate of pancakes<strong>

_We're built in twos, okay? We're drawn to each other — no matter how far I run, he's always there — he finds me! It's physics! –__**Hancock**_

* * *

><p>I was awoken much too early by the annoying noise of a spoon clinking on the side of a ceramic bowl. Also scorching heat. But the goddamn <em>clinking<em>, man. It just would not stop.

_Clink_.

I threw a pillow in the general direction of the noise, keeping my eyes shut. I grinned devilishly when I heard an "oomph" suggesting that my ammunition had hit it's intended target.

"Okay, okay, _geez_. I'll leave then, ya lovebird." I heard Kelsey mutter, followed by the soft click of the front door closing.

"Thank _god_. I thought the noise would never stop." Jake said from below me, his voice hoarse with sleep and his chest rumbling as he spoke.

Instead of running out of the room screaming, which was my initial reaction, I chose instead to retrace my steps, trying to figure out the pieces of how exactly I ended up in this position last night. First things first, I decided to get my bearings- figure out what exactly "this position" was. I seemed to be on the couch in my apartment, lying on top of a half-asleep Jacob Black. His arm was thrown over me, pulling me close to his chest. Not the worst thing I've ever woken up to, I'll tell you that.

Then I try to remember how I _got_ here. I remember a bloody nose, then sitting on the couch and wondering whether or not I should wake Jacob up. I must have fallen asleep sometime after…

I shook my head, still too tired to form coherent thought. I rolled over so that my face was buried in his shirt and inhaled deeply. "You smell like pine trees and laundry detergent." I informed him, curling back into his chest.

"Mmmm…" He hummed agreeably. His hands began to run through my hair lightly, lulling me back into an almost-sleep like state.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked suddenly, his hands ceasing their movement.

"Don't stop." I requested without thinking.

"Huh?"

"Your hands… don't stop… feels… nice." I muttered quietly, punctuating the sentence with a yawn. I felt him smile into my hair and his hands resumed their journey, this time brushing ever so slightly against my cheeks as he ran the rough pads of his fingers back down.

The diamond ring hanging off my necklace began to dig painfully into my chest, and I had to regrettably end his calming ministrations by propping myself up on my elbows. My necklace brushed against his chest as I sat up, getting a good look at him underneath me. He opened his eyes and I gave him a soft smile. He grinned evilly back and flipped us over in one fluid movement.

Wide-eyed with my chest heaving, my fists clutched at his t-shirt like a life raft. He laughed at my shocked expression. I quickly grabbed the throw pillow out from behind my head and hit him with it. Hard.

"Jackass!" I accused, trying hard to keep the amusement out of my voice, but failing.

"You should have seen your face…" He said, chuckling. I tried to wiggle my way off the couch, but he had me trapped in between his two big, muscled arms.

"Nope." He said with a grin when he saw what I was trying to do. "You're not going anywhere."

"Oh really?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow. "Guess you don't want breakfast then."

His eyes narrowed, but it worked- he gave in and raised one of his arms to un-trap me from my position on the couch. I dashed out quickly, basking my ability to outwit him. "It better be good." He said, smirking.

"It'll be _delicious_." I said, throwing an oversized hoodie on and grabbing my car keys. "But I won't be the one cooking it. C'mon, my treat." I said, waving my hand so he would follow me out the door.

It wasn't until I got down into the garage and pressed the button to unlock my car that I realized Jake had yet to see the Jag. The car chirped as the lights flashed, almost as if in a greeting instead of a mere sign of it unlocking.

"No way." I heard Jacob say behind me. I turned back to look at him with a smirk on my face. He stood there with his mouth open in equal parts shock and bitter jealousy. "How many fucking cars do you _own_?"

I laughed. "Just this one and my Ducati, I promise. Hop in- but be careful, the leather seats alone cost more than the Rabbit."

"Ha-ha." He said humorlessly, slipping into the passenger seat.

The car roared to life and I pulled out of the garage and onto the crowded streets of Seattle, full of people driving to work on this overcast Friday morning. "Where are you taking me?" Jake asked.

I smirked. "Where am I 'taking you'? You make it sound like I've kidnapped you or something. Christ, we're going out to breakfast, not a ritual sacrifice."

"Fine- where are we _going_? Better?"

"Much." I responded, pleased. "It's just some café a couple blocks away." In hindsight, we probably could have walked, but I just couldn't resist the opportunity to flaunt my Jaguar in his face. After getting lucky and finding a quick parking space, I dragged him into the small, bright, eccentric coffee shop.

"One World Café, how many- Oh, Sky, it's just you."

I grinned wolfishly at Sasha, my classmate and drummed my fingers on her little hostess pedestal impatiently. "Is that any way to treat a customer?" I questioned.

She grinned at me in response. "I'll get you your usual table." One of the reasons I love this little place so much is because the owner, Brenna, likes to employ the local college kids. Because of the nature of the café, it attracts more of _my_ type of people- art, dance, music people. Consequentially, every time I come here I end up seeing _someone_ I know.

Sasha sat Jake and me down in the big, lavender booth in the back and walked off, telling us that she was going to get up two coffees.

Jacob scrutinized the menu and I snickered as a look of realization dawned on his face, along with one of slight horror. "Sky… did you take me to a _vegetarian_ restaurant?" He asked, pronouncing the word "vegetarian" as if it were the epitome of vulgarity.

"Vegan, actually." I corrected him. He shook his head at me, pretending to look disgusted. At least, I hope he was pretending.

"What am I going to do with you?" He sighed.

I giggled and plucked the menu from his hands just as Sasha came back with the coffees. "We'll have two orders of the strawberries and cream pancakes, and one order of bacon." I said, knowing full well that the vegan bacon was single-handedly the most disgusting thing on the planet.

She scribbled down our orders. "Hey, you're coming to class today, right?" She asked. Sasha and I were in an art class together. One I hadn't shown up for in a while now.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. I actually want to pass this semester."

Sasha grinned. "Good. I was starting to miss your sarcastic commentary all throughout the lesson." She stated smugly before prancing off. "Your orders will be out in a minute." She called over her shoulder.

I turned back to Jacob to find him frowning. "You have class today?"

I sighed. "Yes, unfortunately." I looked at the clock on the wall behind me. "In about two hours."

"You should come to the bonfire tonight." He blurted out.

I cocked my head, taking a sip of my coffee. "Bonfire?" I questioned.

He shrugged. "Yeah, it's this thing the tribal elders do every once in a while. We sit on First Beach and listen to the origin stories of the tribe. The elders want to get one more in before it's winter and it gets too cold." He explained.

"Sounds awesome!"

"Good." He said, sounding somewhat relieved. "Oh, and Kelsey can come too." He offered.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the screen, frowning. _Tom_, the phone read. I hit ignore with a guilty sigh, looking back up at Jacob instead. I would pay for hanging up on him later, but I would much rather spend time with Jake right now.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Who was that?"

I bit my lip, playing with the place setting in front of me instead of making eye contact. "My brother. He has some convoluted idea that I'll be hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year as a show of my 'responsibility.'" I said, adding finger-quotes around the word to enhance its stupidity.

He tilted his head curiously like a puppy. "What's the problem with that?"

I shrugged. "Finding a place to hold a meal for six people." I said with a self-deprecating grin. "My podunk little flat isn't going to cut it."

Jacob wrapped his hands around the coffee mug, appearing to be deep in thought. We were interrupted briefly as our food came to the table. I gave Sasha a smile as she sat the plates down in front of us both.

My stomach growled at the stack of pancakes placed before me, but just as I picked up my fork to dig in, Jacob cut in with a suggestion. "I have a solution for you." He said mysteriously, a mischievous smile tugging on the corner of his mouth.

"Mm?" I asked, or grunted rather, taking my first bite of the delicious food. "And what's that?"

"You should eat dinner with _us_, in La Push for Thanksgiving."

I choked on my food. I grabbed my water glass and took a big gulp, trying to wash the pancake out of my breathing pipe with simultaneously drown myself in embarrassment. "Hey, are you okay?" Jacob asked.

He's concerned. Of _course_ he's concerned, I just choked on my breakfast like a complete idiot; it's a _cause_ for concern. Damage control time.

"Fine, it's just… I wouldn't want to impose on you guys or anything. I mean, it's not just me, it's my entire family. Six extra people is a lot, you know."

He shrugged it off, dismissing my excuse. "Don't worry about that. Emily cooks for Thanksgiving. Last year we had almost forty people."

My mouth dropped open at the mere thought of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for forty people. And here _I_ was, complaining about six! "That's… insane. Where did all the people fit? There's no way forty people fit in her house…"

"Yeah, definitely not. The past couple of years her and Sue have been holding it at one of the elder's houses. He lives a bit of ways off, but his house is bigger. It's no Cullen mansion, but we fit." He said, smiling as he took a bite out of his pancakes.

"Wow. This is actually really good." He said, looking down at his plate, the surprise in his voice evident.

"I know, right?" I teased, raising my eyebrows at him. "Try the bacon." I said, pushing the plate a little closer to him in offering.

He took a piece of the brown, unidentifiable mush, fried and shaped into strips so that it would vaguely resemble some sort of meat. The suspicion in his hesitation was obvious. He was right to be paranoid. He held it up to me, looking me in the eye. "Am I going to regret this?" He asked.

I bit back a smile. "Only one way to find out." I responded, as close to encouragement as I could get without straight up lying to his face.

He took a substantially sized bite and coughed, almost immediately reaching for his water glass and draining it dry. "Ugh, that's _horrible_." He complained as I laughed at him. "It tastes like… like… wood, or tree bark or something."

He rolled his eyes at my laughter. "Alright, I ate your stupid bacon, now you have to agree to Thanksgiving. No more excuses." He manipulated, raising his eyebrow.

I stopped laughing, my eyes narrowed at him. My fingers reached out to play with the straw in my water glass as I spoke. "You drive a hard bargain, Jacob Black."

He gave a grin that could undoubtedly charm the pants off of any girl currently breathing. "It's not a bargain if you can't say no, Skylar. Then it's called a demand."

I observed him for a moment, contemplating my next move, but he seemed unwavering. "Okay." I agreed finally. "But! I have to help with the cooking, otherwise I would feel guilty." I negotiated reasonably.

"Deal." He agreed easily, taking another bite of pancake.

We chatted amicably for the rest of the meal. After the bill was paid, we took the five minute walk down to the city streets and back to my car. I didn't realize how late it had gotten- when I looked down at my phone I saw that I only had about half-an-hour before class started.

"Shit." I whispered under my breath, coming up with the conclusion that any way I worked it, I would be late for class, something I really wanted to avoid due to my recent attendance. If I got in the car right now and drove straight to school, it would probably take me twenty minutes with no traffic. However, I could hardly abandon Jacob here with no means of getting himself home, and driving him back to my apartment, _then_ to school would take more time then I had left.

Jacob heard my mumbled curse. He tipped his head so he could search my face, looking for a clue into my thoughts. "What?" He asked. "You okay?"

I shrugged, not wanting to make him feel bad. In all honesty, I'm glad we got to do this, even if it means I'm late to class. Hell, I would miss class for a month if this is what I get to be doing instead. "I'm fine, I just realized I'm going to be a little late for my class." I said, trying to downplay it as best I could.

He frowned, looking at the watch on his wrist. "How long does it take to drive to your class?"

"Not that long, but I've got to get you back to the apartment."

He rolled his eyes with a little smirk on his face. "Don't worry about me Sky, I'll be fine. Just get to class- I can't have you becoming a delinquent because of me." He joked.

"What? No, I can't just leave you here." I argued as we approached my car.

He opened the driver's door for me, motioning with his hand for me to get inside. "Yes, you can- and you will. I'll make it- I can take care of myself Skylar." He said, then paused for a second before adding, "I'll still see you at the bonfire tonight though, right?"

I smiled. "Of course."

He gave a half-smile that lingered with relief. "Right. See you then." He said, then leaned in quickly to give me a peck on the cheek.

That was _not_ happening.

At the last second, I turned my face so that his lips hit mine. I could hear his small gasp and see in his face his embarrassment as he pulled away, thinking it was a mistake on his part and not initiated intentionally by me. "Sorry," He mumbled sheepishly.

"Don't apologize," I replied in a whisper, fisting my hands in his hair and bringing his mouth back down to mine. This time, he realized what I was doing and responded, his lips moving in perfect synchronization with mine.

I could give you all the clichéd bits about how there was fireworks, sparks, or dramatic explosions of light. But that would be a lie. In reality, it was much better.

There was warmth. Everywhere, there was warmth. Where his hand rested on my waist, drawing small circles with his thumb, where he cradled my face in his palm and ran his fingers through my hair… and where his lips kissed me in the middle of a crowded street.

Warmth.

There was passion. It was tangible- it was like a current running through the air, heightening my senses so that everything felt magnetized in that moment.

So no, there was no burst of energy that fizzled like a million firecrackers.

The kiss was tender, but needy- soft but passionate. The kiss was… _Jacob_.

_Everything_ was Jacob. If you asked me my name, I probably couldn't tell you. It was like my whole mind had been wiped clean and now the only thing that existed anymore was him.

And I loved every second of it. He seemed to as well.

He ran his fingers through my long hair one last time before he pulled away, his eyelids fluttering a bit but remaining shut, as if to prolong the moment. He didn't go far though, his arm wrapped around me tightly, encasing me in his heat.

I sighed and rested my forehead on his, wishing for nothing more than that he would open his eyes so I could see the expression in them. I was _dying_ to know what he was thinking- to know if he felt even half of what I was feeling right now.

Finally, they opened, and he looked at me. His eyes were dark- burning with so many emotions that I couldn't quite place. Lust, passion, wonder, reverence and… and…

Love?

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply to dispel the premature notion. Certainly not.

"Skylar…" He whispered, his voice hoarse. "Look at me, please. I need you to look at me."

How can I possibly argue with that? I obeyed, opening my eyes and looking back at him. All the emotions I had seen before were still there, just as strong, just as unchecked, and just as overwhelming. I can say with complete confidence that no one has ever looked at me the way Jacob was looking at me now.

It was too much.

I looked down; I broke eye contact. I _had _to, I _had_ to break the trance, before I lost all frame of mind. Before Jacob drove me slowly insane.

"Jake," I whispered, barely recognizing my own voice. "That was…" I shook my head, unable to come up with an adjective that could properly convey the experience.

"I know," He whispered back. "I felt it too."

Again, the feeling of being overwhelmed hit ne like a ton of bricks. First the kiss, then his heated gaze, now he acknowledges that he felt _it_ too.

_It_.

That feeling I got, like we were two puzzle pieces finally clicking. Like the whole universe took a collective sigh of relief and said "finally." Like there was some sort of wire between us, connecting us at the soul that pulsed in time with our heartbeats. Like in some unintentional twist of fate, I was _built_ to kiss him like that… as he was me.

Too much.

All of it, at once- Too. Much.

"Jacob, I- I have to go. I'm going to be late, for- for class." I stuttered, suddenly feeling trapped in his embrace. I quickly slipped out of it. The air seemed cold and unwelcoming compared to his warmth, but it cleared my mind.

"You're _going_? Now?" He asked, his brow furrowed. "Oh, okay. But, I'll still see you tonight, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course." I promised, eager to get out of there. I couldn't think clearly when he was near me. Oh, god, what was happening to me? I sound like a poorly written romance novel.

"Good. I'll… see you really soon then Sky. Bye." He said, smiling at me with a wave before I got in my car and quickly pulled away.

* * *

><p>"Tell me again why we're going to this thing?" Kelsey asked from the passenger seat, fiddling with the laces on her Vans. Now that I had time to clear my head, and take a Jacob-free time out, I had decided that the best way to handle the situation would be to go to the bonfire and talk to him about it, see how much of "it" he really felt.<p>

Bringing Kelsey along with me was more of a moral support type thing. Well, it _would_ be, if I would actually tell her what happened. I still haven't worked up the nerve to put it into words yet. "Because we were invited and neither of us have class tomorrow, so I thought it would be a rather fun activity." I said, the best and only excuse I could think of at the moment.

Kelsey just smiled and bit her lip, knowing that I was keeping something from her- something about Jacob- but never being one to pry.

"Besides, we're almost there." I said, to get the attention off of the subject.

"Really?" She asked, sitting up straighter. "How much longer, I'm getting a really bad headache." She rubbed her temples, closing her eyes. Stress headaches weren't too uncommon for her, but in the two weeks since we've been back from La Push they've gotten much more frequent and worse. I was beginning to worry if it was a mild case of PTSD. We've never actually _talked_ about what happened… I made a mental note to do that soon.

"Only a few more minutes." I promised, turning onto the now-familiar road through the woods. I recognized the dirt path that lead down to the Cullen household. My hand unconsciously went to feel the outline of the wooden cross under the fabric of my t-shirt.

I still didn't know if I was willing to forgive and forget so easily. The dress Alice gave me to wear to Benaroya Hall still hung in my closet, taunting me with its presence and the reminder of my horrible tendency to hold grudges.

It was only seven o'clock, but it was already getting dark out in the chill, late October air. As I pulled into the parking lot next to the beach the gravel crunched under my tires. I stopped the car and grabbed a sweatshirt from the back, knowing I'll probably need it before the night is over.

Kels and I made our way down to the beach where the faint orangish glow of a fire was already visible. I glanced to my left and saw two familiar figures- hulking and shirtless- walk towards the clearing in the woods. Jacob and Embry. "Hey, you go down, I'll catch up with tou in a minute." I promised Kelsey walking after them with soft footfalls.

It wasn't until I got to the tree line that I could really hear their conversation. They had gone a little further into the foliage, but I could hear Embry's voice as clear as day. "I'm just saying man, that if I were you, I would make a move real soon. If you wait too long, she might get the wrong idea, and that's when people get friend-zoned." He lectured in a serious voice, as if he were teaching a complex and hard-to-understand subject like Calculus or Physics.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem for me anymore." Jacob said, rather smug-sounding.

I wasn't _intending_ to eavesdrop, I really wasn't. I had just wanted to sneak up on them and scare the shit out of both of them, but now that I realized they were talking about me the opportunity was just too intriguing to pass up.

"Why not?" Embry asked curiously. "Did you finally make a move?" There was a pause. "Did _she_ make a move?"

Embry's laugh echoed through the trees. "Damn, I _knew_ I liked this girl." He said, sounding impressed. "Well? How was it?"

"We just kissed Embry." Jacob grumbled a bit uncomfortably.

"I know that dude." I could almost hear Embry's eye roll. "But from what I hear from Sam and Jared, it's supposed to be all 'magical' and 'earth-shattering' and shit." I leaned in closer to the sound of their voices, desperate to hear Jake's honest feedback on the kiss and if it was just as powerful for him as it was for me.

"_Spying_ isn't cute, you know."

I gasped, my hand fluttering uselessly to my mouth at the surprisingly near voice.

Paul.

"Jesus Christ." I hissed at him, glaring with all my might. "What the hell are you doing here?" I snapped at him.

"I should ask you the same thing." He said. Even in the flattering light of the moon he looked like shit. Well, not actually. _Actually_, he was (dare I say it) rather attractive like the rest of the La Push boys.

But _damn_.

If I thought he was looking bad before, then he must look like a Medusa reincarnate now. He looked tired as hell and like he hadn't showered in weeks. He looked like he went through hell and back and sold his soul to get there. It wasn't hard to see that stuff when it was written so plainly on his face. Of all the people, I never would have pegged Paul for an open book.

"What happened to you?" I asked, rather unsympathetically. But who cares? This is _Paul_.

He scowled at me. "Nothing. Nothing happened."

I was about to walk away from him when I remembered something Jacob had told me the night before. "Hey, what is this shit I hear about you coming to visit us in Seattle?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

He clenched his fists. "I didn't _mean_ to." He spoke through gritted teeth. "I was just… just running… just going somewhere, then- _fuck!_" He punched a tree and I noticed him shaking. I took a step back, unnerved and not sure what was going on.

Paul was still ranting, almost as if he had forgotten of my presence and was just getting it all out. "The next thing I know I'm in Seattle, in some little coffee shot and _there_ she is and I don't even know what I'm doing there."

"Paul, what are you talking about?" I asked, getting more and more worried for my safety by the second.

"It's like, it's like the _universe_ just won't let me stay away from her." He explained to no one in particular, pacing like a mad man. "Like no matter how hard I try, all paths lead to _her_ and there isn't shit I can do about it whether I like it or not. And! _And _even when I _do_ try, the goddamn _spirits_, or whatever put me through _hell_. I mean, between the headaches and the insomnia and this irritating-as-fuck _ache_ in my chest-"

"_Paul!_" I exclaimed.

He stopped talking, looking at me for the first time since he started shaking. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if _I_ was shaking now, he was scaring the crap out of me. _"What_ are you talking about?" I asked.

He looked at me like I was an idiot for not knowing. "_Her_. Kelsey."

"Kelsey." I repeated blankly. "_My_ Kelsey?" I clarified, dumbfounded as to why he would have such a violent reaction towards a girl he insulted once then never talked to again.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes… _that_ Kelsey." He paused for a moment, his expression appearing distant.

"But why-"

"Hold on, hold on," He said, putting up a finger to silence me. "This might work." He grabbed my shoulders and attempted to steer me to a log on the ground and get me to sit. I promptly swatted his hands off, still far to clairvoyant to allow that.

"Don't touch me." I snapped at him.

He took his hands off, facing his palms towards me as if he were being arrested. "Fine, whatever. I need you to do something though. Tell me about her." He demanded.

"No." I stated simply without even hearing the question, ready to refuse him no matter what he wanted.

"Why not?"

"If you want to ask her something, you can do it yourself. She's down at the bonfire right now." I said, getting up and brushing my jeans off, getting ready to leave.

His eyes got a glazed, far-away look for a second before he shook his head roughly. "No, absolutely not. Just- Skylar!" He exclaimed, catching my arm to keep me from leaving. "Just five minutes. _Please_. I just need to know stuff about her, just little things. Then maybe I can stop thinking about her so much."

I looked down at the dirt, hating myself for what I was about to do. "Fine." I said, stomping over to the log and sitting back down on it. "What do you want to know?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, shit. I don't know. What's her…"

"Favorite color?" I put in with a sarcastic bitterness.

"Sure." He replied sincerely, to my surprise.

I rolled my eyes. "Yellow." I said, sticking to one-word answers to piss him off.

"Why?"

"What do you mean _why_?" I asked, angry at his vagueness. After all, _I_ was doing _him_ a favor.

"I _mean_, _why_ is yellow her favorite color?"

"Why is… I have no idea! Sunsets, maybe- parrots! Who the hell knows?" I exclaimed, getting frustrated with him.

"Parrots?" He asked, his voice verging on amused.

"Yeah, parrots. You know, those colorful birds that fly around in South America, Brazil and shit?" I said, trying my hardest to not sound condescending.

"Brazil?" He said, sounding idiotic as he continued on with his single-word line of questioning.

"_Yes!_ Brazil! As in the place she went last summer."

"Why did she go to Brazil last summer?" He asked, for once being calm and not getting worked up.

"Because she has family there." I said, getting up because I was annoyed to hell with him and his general demeanor.

"So she's Brazilian?"

"On her mom's side, yeah- _why_ am I even telling you this?" I asked myself, putting my hand to my forehead and starting to walk away.

His response was immediate, calm and collected and completely the opposite of anything I ever would have expected to come out of his mouth, ever. "Because as much as you wish everyone thought otherwise, deep down you care."

I froze in place, absorbing what he said. He raised an eyebrow, as if challenging me to contradict his statement.

I swallowed, looking at the ground instead of him and taking a deep breath. "Her favorite color is yellow. She loves math class and her mom. She hates it when people fight and she's fiercely loyal to her family. She likes the beach a lot but the mountains more. She's sitting down at the bonfire now and she hates cheesy pickup lines." I whispered.

"And Paul?" I asked, finally glancing back up, hoping that against my better judgment, I could trust him. "Don't make me regret this."

With that, I walked back down to the sandy beaches of La Push, back to Jacob and Kelsey and Embry and all the other people who make me feel like I belong.

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><p><strong>AN: I know it's been a while, but this is a longer chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it :) I wanted to make sure I had some stuff with Paul in the end. Thanks for all your support and please review!**


	11. a legend

**Chapter 11- a legend**

_There are a lot of things we don't want to know about the people we love. –__**Fight Club**_

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><p>"Yo, pass the hotdogs."<p>

"Quil, that's like your ninth hotdog. You're officially cut off." I told him, kicking sand in his general direction as I munched on the veggie burger Emily had so graciously brought for me.

"But Jake's had at least ten!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at Jacob.

Jake grinned at me. "Sky likes me better."

I smirked at him before glancing back towards the direction of the woods _again_. I kept expecting Paul to walk out, but he hasn't yet. I was pretty proud of my little inspirational go-get-'em talk, and admittedly a bit disappointed that he apparently isn't listening to it.

Then I reminded myself that it was _Paul_, and I stopped caring just like that.

I smiled at the soft crackle of the fire as I let my mind drift off aimlessly. I could get used to this.

"Someone looks happy." A deep voice rumbled close to my ear as a pair of arms engulfed me into warmth.

I sighed with content and scooted farther into Jacob's lap. He chuckled. "Don't get too comfortable yet. I have someone I want you to meet." He said, standing up and offering me his hand.

I brushed the loose grains of sand off my palms before accepting it and letting him lead me over to a group of important-looking older men.

"Dad, this is Skylar. Skylar, this is my Dad, Billy." Jacob introduced us as he gestured to a man in a wheelchair with long hair and a cowboy hat.

"It's a pleasure to _finally_ meet you Skylar." Jacob's father said with heavy emphasis on the finally.

I grinned at his attempt to embarrass his son, shaking his hand. "You too Mr. Black." I said, trying my very hardest to be polite and hold in all of my sassy retorts about having this meet-the-parents moment thrust upon me unexpectedly.

So far so good though.

"Please, call me Billy." He suggested.

"Oh, thank heavens. Mr. Black was _such_ a mouthful." _And_, there we go- awkward comment number one.

Damnit.

I shut my mouth quickly after that, unable to take the sarcastic response back, but still regretting it immensely. Jake was no help at all. He merely snorted and smirked at me.

Thankfully, Billy seemed to have a good sense of humor and took my rudeness in stride. He laughed and responded good-naturedly. "I don't think it was the _length_ of the name that prompted me to suggest you call me Billy, but more the _formality_."

I laughed along nervously. "Yeah, that makes more sense."

He shook his head in amusement, looking between me and Jacob with a smile. "Well, it was wonderful meeting you Skylar. I have to go get ready to tell the legends. You kids have fun." He winked before wheeling away.

I practically attacked Jacob as soon as Billy was out of earshot. "Are you _crazy_!" I hissed, hitting him with my hands. I'm pretty sure it caused me more pain than it did him. "You... you… Sadist!" I accused.

He furrowed his eyebrows at me, an amused smile on his face. "What are you talking about Skylar?" He asked rather genuinely.

"You need to warn me before introducing me to your father! I need time to properly prepare myself."

He smiled down at me. "You did fine Kai. I think he likes you."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on, the legends are about to start." He said, leading me over to an empty spot around the fire where people were already beginning to assemble in small crowds.

Billy swerved up to the fire in his wheelchair and a hush fell upon the crowd. I chose this moment to whisper my questions into Jacob's ear. "So, when you say _legends_ are we talking like, superhero stories, or…?" I trialed off. Across the fire Embry snorted back laughter.

Jacob smirked. "Why don't you _wait_ ten seconds and find out?"

I shrugged. "I'm impatient. It's the fault of growing up in a household full of men in a perpetual hurry."

He raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't call it a fault. More of a… quirk."

I tapped my finger to my chin contemplatively. "Yes, but modern day society generally regards impatience as a negative trait. So therefore it is a fault." I argued.

"Yes, but you wear it with such a cute charm that it can't be considered anything other than a quirk."

I glared at him for a moment, and, unable to come up with a witty rejoinder, finally settled on a weak "'Tis a matter of opinion." And gave up.

Billy cleared his throat and all lingering conversations immediately ceased, leaving nothing to permeate the pure silence except for the occasional crackle of the powerfully glowing fire. Like a king issuing a royal decree, Billy began to speak.

"From the beginning, the Quileutes were a small people…" I listened to the story slowly unfold while staring transfixed at the fire casting lights and shadows upon the sand. As he wove his intricate tale, Billy became a different person. No longer the caring father I had met mere moments ago, he was now the keeper of history- the leader burdened with the task of continuing the oral tradition of the tribe.

I could feel Jacob staring at me the whole time- clearly not as affected as I was by these legends he must have heard over and over again so many times. But I couldn't look away.

I was trapped by the sight of the roaring fire and the sound of the legends as they implanted themselves in my mind. I half expected the fire to start turning colors or making images out of the smoke like some sort of Disney movie. And I swear I could hear the sonorous echo of beating drums in the background.

It was surreal.

"And so the sons of our tribe again carry the burden and share the sacrifice of their fathers before them." Billy ended his story. There was a small smattering of applause and I could already feel the magic floating away.

I blinked a few times and looked away from the fire as if awakening from a dream.

"Well?" Jacob asked in his endearing way, immediately crushing whatever was left of the trance that still held me. "What did you think?"

"That was amazing." I breathed honestly.

He grinned. "I knew you'd like them."

I smiled back sheepishly. "Yeah, that's a bit of an understatement. Your dad really has a knack for storytelling." I complimented.

"That he does, Ole Billy." Embry interrupted, shoving his large body in between us and throwing his arms around both our shoulders.

"But let's talk about what we _really_ want to talk about, hm?"He said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

I sighed. "And what would that be Embry?" I asked, taking the bait.

"This horrible sexual tension between you two!" He exclaimed passionately. "I mean, come on! _I _can feel it, and I'm sitting all the way over there." He said, gesturing his hands wildly. "And what is this Jake tells me about a kiss?"

"Kiss?" I asked innocently. "What kiss?"

Embry shook his head in disbelief. "I _knew_ it. He was lyin' all along. It's okay Sky." He consoled. "You can do better." For this, Jake hit him on the arm.

"You could do _me_." Embry suggested with an upwards nod. And for this he got a punch on both arms, one from me and one from Jacob.

"Okay, okay, geez. _Don't _do me. I'm way out of your league anyway." He grumbled, rubbing the arm that Jacob had hit.

"Seriously?" I asked Jacob, leaning over Embry as if it somehow made our conversation more private. "Of all the people to tell, you choose this fool?"

"Hey! I'm right here you know." Embry said, feigning insult.

Jacob merely ignored him. "Him? He's harmless. Besides, I'm sure you told Kelsey."

"No, actually-"

"Tell me what?" Kelsey asked from across the fire, hearing her name and hating to be out of the loop.

I groaned. "Jesus Christ Jacob, why don't we just announce it to the whole universe while we're at it? We can make flyers and maybe hold a meeting. Hell, let's just see if we can get a spot on national news. The more people that know the better!" I said sarcastically.

Jake grinned easily. "I have no problems with that."

"I'm way ahead of you babe." Embry winked mischievously at me before standing up on a log. "Attention! Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please? Thank you. I have a very important announcement to make-"

I jumped up, my self-preservations instincts kicking in. I threw my hand over his mouth and began to speak over him, not letting go despite his struggling.

"Yes! An announcement. Very important. And the announcement is…" I racked my brains for something, anything. "Embry is pregnant! And the baby… is, um… The baby is Paul's!" I said, blurting out the first name that came to mind. "Embry is pregnant with Paul's baby." I announced.

There was confused silence until Jacob started clapping. Hesitantly, people followed his lead. "He's gonna be a daddy!" I exclaimed one last time before sitting back down and pulling Embry with me.

He looked shocked. "I will never live that down." He stated, monotone.

I tried not to look smug. "Don't mess with me."

Jacob, meanwhile, was cracking up, practically in stitches. "That was hilarious." He said between laughs.

Embry got up, looking zombie-like. "Excuse me while I go throw myself into the fire." He said before walking away slowly.

I looked after him, feeling the slightest bit of remorse. "He's joking, right? He'll be okay?" I clarified with Jacob, not wanting to be cruel.

"Who, Embry? Yeah, he's fine. Besides, he needs a good dose of his own medicine every once in a while."

My worry was quickly put to the side when Quil's booming voice declared "Hey, look who decided to join the party!"

I glanced behind me and saw Paul making his way over to the crowd. Sam walked up to him and they spoke in terse, inaudible statements for a second before Sam gave him what appeared to be a nod of approval and they both sauntered up.

Emily, always the mother, walked straight up to him and gave him a big hug which he surprisingly returned. I guess you learn pretty quickly that turning down a hug from Emily is a big no-no.

He made brief eye contact with me but in no way acknowledged my existence or our previous conversation. I was okay with that. Instead of following my advice, however, he just sat down and started making himself a hot dog.

Whatever.

I was okay with that too, the asshole.

I rolled my eyes at his stubborn, prideful behavior. I felt a tug on my shirt and I looked down to see Claire looking up at me with innocent, expectant eyes.

"Will you come build a sandcastle with me, Sky?" She asked so endearingly that I found it impossible to say no.

I smiled at her and nodded yes, excusing myself from Jacob as I strolled to the waterline hand in hand with the little girl.

Five minutes into our sandcastle-building experience she had already deemed my architectural skills not up to par and started giving me orders. "No, you're using the wrong sand!" She called hurriedly before I attempted to construct anything out of it.

"I thought sand was all the same." I responded in confusion, dusting my hands off.

"No, no. I can do it. You build the moat." She bossed me around.

"Alright." I said, holding my hands up and following submissively. I experimented at first with digging using only my hands, but that soon proved to be wholly unproductive.

I surveyed the surrounding area and noticed a flat rock that looked to be perfect for digging lying in the sand a few yards away. "I'll be right back Claire." I let her know before I set off in the direction of my makeshift shovel.

I reached my rock and leaned down to pick it up, and that's when I heard the voices. Angry voices, growing louder with each passing second. It was Leah and Jacob. They were arguing.

"So _what_?" She was saying to him. "You're just going to run back to Sam's pack without even talking to me first? Without _telling_ me? I mean that little to you?"

"It won't be his pack anymore, Leah. It'll be mine. I'm taking over as Alpha. Besides, the only reason I stayed away in the first place was because of Bella. That isn't a problem any longer."Jacob told her, sounding much calmer than her.

"For you! I still can't do it. Especially not now. Especially not during the wedding. _Please_, Jacob. Seth went back to Sam right after the battle. I can't just be a pack on my own. You have to still remember what it's like."

"Of course I remember. But it's been years since you were with him Leah. _Years_. Can't you get over it already?"

"I'm so fucking sorry that we can't all just imprint and have all of our problems go away!" She yelled.

"Don't bring her into this." Jacob practically growled.

I felt another little tug on the hem of my shirt. "Sky, why are they yelling?" Claire asked.

I opened my mouth to answer her, but then realized I wasn't so sure myself. "I don't know hon. Let me take you back to Quil, okay?" I said, leaving the sounds of their heated argument behind.

As soon as she was back by the fireside, sitting on Quil's lap again, I wasted no time in going back to my spot on the beach. I was quite ready to berate the both of them for having such a loud fight in direct earshot of a little girl.

This time I actually managed to locate the silhouettes of their figures, lightly bathed in moonlight. Even from this far back, it was easy to tell that their argument had become more violent. I was close enough to see that both of them were shaking severely, almost convulsing.

Leah spoke in a cold, dead, calculating tone that made me halt in place, too enraptured with their conversation now to go any further. "You're pathetic. I spent _months_ inside your head, listening to you denounce the idea of imprinting, listening to you tell yourself over and over again that if it ever happened to you, you would fight it. You said you would fight for real love. Then _she_ showed up and all that gets blown to hell."

"You don't understand! It's not just something you can fight-"

"Really? Because Paul is."

"Paul hasn't slept or eaten in weeks." Jacob defended.

"Who gives a shit!" Leah exploded. "He's _trying_. He never wanted this either. The Jacob _I_ know wouldn't just roll over and take it. But apparently, the Jacob I know is gone!" She yelled.

"This isn't about her, Leah!" Jacob yelled right back. "This is about what it's always about- _you!_ Well I have news for you. Sam is _never_ going to love you!"

"You don't know anything about me!" Leah screamed.

"Like hell I don't! I know _everything _about you because up until a month ago, I used to _be_ you."

She shoved him roughly. "I hate you, Jacob Black! I _hate_ you!"

Something in her seemed to snap. There were ripping noises and Leah screamed. I stood frozen in my place, not even blinking, terrified. I watched as her silhouette broke and cracked and morphed into a huge wolf before my very eyes. I heard a pained whimper and looked over to see that Jacob had done the same.

I couldn't comprehend what was going on. The dull light of the moon was no longer soft but eerie. I stumbled a step back and heard screams, realizing somewhere in the recesses of my mind that they were mine. The wolves heard me, their ears perking up as their heads snapped to look at me, their glowing eyes piercing into my soul.

I turned back around and ran as fast as I could towards the fire. The sand sunk with every step, slowing me down. I didn't dare look back to see if they were pursuing me.

Back at the fireside, everyone still sat around lazily, enjoying the night, blissfully unaware of whatever it was I had just witnessed.

Emily was the first one to see me. She stopped laughing and talking with Sam and quickly hurried to my side. "Sky? Is everything okay? You look terrified. What happened?" She asked, holding me up with her hands.

My heart was beating out of order and the adrenaline pumped through my veins. I couldn't explain what just happened if I tried. "Jacob and Leah…" I panted. "They were arguing, and then… And then…"

My failed attempt at an explanation was cut off by a howl, then another. All talking stopped immediately before slowly, everyone turned to look at me.

"Wolves." I whispered.

Then suddenly, everything was mayhem.

Sam stood up and began to order people around. "Quil, Paul. You go out and find Leah and Jacob. Embry, you stay here with Emily and take care of Skylar. Everyone else come with me. We have some cleaning up to do."

I tried to get his attention. He didn't understand. He couldn't go back and find them. It was crazy. It was suicide. Everyone needed to leave- now.

"No, Sam! You don't get it- they _turned_ into wolves." I emphasized, my voice sounding panicky.

"What are you talking about Sky?" Kelsey asked me quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay Skylar. Just calm down, Sam will take care of everything, okay?" Emily consoled.

"Man, Jake's gonna be crushed." Embry said, shaking his head as people began to rush around me.

I watched as Quil and Paul both whipped their shirts over their heads and Sam stood around, giving people orders. Suddenly, things began to click.

The "pack". Wolf-boy. The shaking. The growling. The muscles. The _legends_.

"You _knew_." I whispered as everyone around me took on a similar look of guilt. I took a shuddering breath and shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around everything that was happening around me.

It was starting to feel like I was trapped in a bad horror movie, and fuck if I was going to be the stupid bimbo who died in the first five minutes.

"Skylar," Embry said, taking a step towards me and reaching his hand out.

I jumped back, ripping my arm away from him as if I had been burned. "D-_don't_. Touch me."

People were staring again. It was almost as if they could see the wheels in my head turning and were afraid of making any sudden movements, like I was a skittish animal. They were waiting to gauge my reaction.

"Oh my god." I realized, grabbing Kelsey's hand and taking quick steps backwards, not looking away from them, not turning my back to them. "You're one too. All of you are!" I accused.

"Now Sky," Emily started off softly.

"Kai, what's happening?" Kelsey asked me, sounding frightened.

"We need to leave _now _Kels." I said hurriedly, clutching her hand tightly as I turned around and ran as fast as I could, dragging her along with me. I heard my name being called from behind me, but I didn't look back.

When we reached the car, both of us were panting and Kelsey still looked as confused as ever. "Get in the car." I ordered her as I walked to the driver's seat, glancing back and realizing with relief that no one had followed us.

"Where are we going?" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Away from here." I stated simply, unable to tell her what I myself did not even know.

She stood there stubbornly, arms still folded and not moving, not getting in the goddamn car. "What are you doing?" I hissed at her, shoving my keys into the ignition. "We need to leave, _now_."

"No." She told me calmly, as always, cool under pressure.

"No! What do you mean n-?"

"I _mean_, that I am not getting into the car until you explain to me what is going _on_, Skylar."

I sighed, dropping my hands off the steering wheel that I had been clutching so painfully. "Kelsey," My plea sounded pitiful even to my own ears. "_Please_, Kelsey. Just trust me. Just get in the car. This once, for me." I begged helplessly.

She glanced down in concession before opening the car door, albeit reluctantly, and getting in.

"Thank you," I breathed, gunning the engine in my most desperate attempt to get the hell out of here.

"At the very least, will you tell me where you're planning on driving to?" She yelled over the sound of my car's roaring. "Because we don't have enough gas in the tank for the drive home and something tells me Emily's house is out of the question. Those are the only places in town that we know Skylar!" She reasoned. One glance at my gas meter whose red hand teetered on empty and I saw she was right.

It was at this precise moment that I conveniently passed a familiar road. I took it without second thought, knowing better than to pass up such a lucky and well-timed revelation.

And that, my friends, is how I found myself banging on the door of Edward Cullen at twelve AM on what can only be explained as the most exciting Friday night of my life thus far.

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><p><strong>AN: ****Oh my god it hasn't really been two months, has it. Haha, forget about me yet? I feel so terrible, but this chapter was exceedingly hard for me to write for some reason. It's actually one of my shorter chapters, comparatively, but a lot happens. It shouldn't be this long of a wait for the next one though because schools over so I've got more time on my hands. But I won't make any promises because I never know when the procrastination bug kicks in. And a SPECIAL THANK YOU to AGoldenMinute whose loquacious and awe-inspiring review prompted me to stop playing X-Box and start writing again.**


	12. a raspberry

**Chapter 12- a raspberry**

_It should take you exactly four seconds to cross from here to that door… I'll give you two. __**–Breakfast at Tiffany's**_

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><p>As the door flung open, I began to have second thoughts about coming here. How was I possibly going to explain myself in a way that would sound even remotely believable?<p>

_Hello, hi Edward. I'm sorry to wake you, but Jacob Black is a werewolf and so is everyone else in La Push, I think, so can I come in?_

Yes, that would go down just swimmingly, I'm sure.

However, when the door was pulled back, it wasn't Edward that I saw, but his brother, Emmett. His permanent grin only widened when he saw me. "Hey, it's you! Edward isn't here right now, but come on in." He said, waking me in with one of his big paws.

Well that was easier than anticipated.

The house, like the forest surrounding it was eerily quiet. We followed the overly-welcoming giant into a large, open room with a flat screen TV. In the same room, wearing skeptical glares, were two more Cullens- the blonde chick named after a flower and the dude who always looked in pain.

"What are _they_ doing here, Emmett?" The blonde asked hatefully.

Emmett ignored her completely, addressing Kelsey and I instead. "You remember my beautiful wife Rosalie and her brother, Jasper."

"Yeah, of course." I lied with conviction.

"Great to meet you again." Rosalie purred with biting sarcasm. "Why are you here?" She questioned, talking to us directly this time.

Emmett's brow furrowed, as if the question hadn't occurred to him until now. "Yeah, actually. What _are _you doing here?" He repeated, sounding much nicer when he asked it.

Kelsey looked between me and him as I struggled for an explanation. I looked to her with pleading eyes, hoping she could provide some sort of help on the matter. "Don't look at me." She said, holding her hands up as if she were being arrested. "I don't know anything, remember?"

"Well you looked pretty freaked, no offense." Emmett pointed out, flopping down on the couch unceremoniously.

"She is." Jasper confirmed from his distant corner of the room.

I could feel the gaze of everyone fixed on me, waiting for me to explain myself. "Um…" I started eloquently. "I _think_ we just escaped a pack of werewolves?" I said, the words coming out sounding so unsure that it became a question.

There was a beat of silence as I waited for everyone to either gasp in horror, send me to a psych ward, or burst into peals of laughter. "Well _shit_." Emmett finally broke the silence with his inarticulate yet somehow fitting remark.

Rosalie got up with an uninterested eye-roll. "Call Edward or Alice or Bella or someone else who actually knows how to deal with this kind of thing. I'll be in the garage if you need me." The clicking of her stilettos echoed throughout the room as she stalked off.

"Uh, right, right. Jazz, you, uhm… calm everybody down. I'm gonna go call Ed." Emmett said as he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.

And again the room was silent. Kelsey sat next to me, looking confused yet patient. Jasper sat across the room still, rigid and tense. I tried to make conversation.

"So are you like, the family hermit or something?" I questioned, far past the point of caring about menial things such as social etiquette.

Jasper looked up, his normally downcast eyes showing the tiniest glint of humor. "Something like that." He responded tersely. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he seemed to have a bit more confidence. "You're very good at hiding your panic." He said quietly.

"Thanks," I responded, not about to deny it. "But it may partially be the shock. I'm sure in about ten minutes I'll be rocking back and forth in a corner muttering to myself."

He laughed softly. "You're not like Bella at all, you know that?"

"I already _knew_ that."

Just then, Emmett came walking back in with the phone in hand. "He wants to talk to you." He said, shoving the cell into my face.

"Edward?" I asked once I had put the phone to my ear.

"Hello, Skylar. How are you?" He asked in his velvety smooth radio-talk-show-host-voice.

"Why, thank you for asking. I myself am just dandy. Never been better, one could say. I made out with a guy this morning in a parking lot. About an hour ago he morphed into a wolf. How has your day been?"

Jasper coughed back a laugh as Edward responded in a patient voice. "I'm assuming that the sarcasm is a defense mechanism to hide your terror."

I narrowed my eyes. "_Sarcasm_ is a wonderful tool that I use every day for a variety of different reasons and thou shalt never talk down on it again." I declared.

He sighed, but knew better than to argue with me. "I'm on my way back right now. Why don't you tell me _exactly _what happened."

"I can't." I whispered into the phone, my voice betraying for the first time just how I felt. "I don't know what happened. I don't know." I repeated.

I felt a warm hand grab my own and I looked down to see Kelsey's tan skin clasping my shaking fingers. "Tell _me_." She said, looking into my eyes.

I swallowed and nodded hesitantly, lowering the phone and ignoring the social conventions that said I should at least say goodbye to Edward. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a white hand quickly swipe the phone away, but I wasn't paying much attention as I began to recount the confusing and terrifying tale to my patient best friend.

When I finished there was a deafening silence. I could hear her deep, even breaths and even Jasper's slow, shallow, practically non-existent ones. "Do you believe me?" I asked in a whisper that sounded pitifully fearful.

Kelsey looked like she was choosing her words with extreme care. "I believe that is what you _saw_, yes." She said quietly.

That left only the obvious question. "But you think I saw something that wasn't… wasn't…" I struggled to find a proper word.

"Possible?" Kelsey offered. "You have to admit, Sky, it's rather hard to swallow."

"I'm not crazy." I said adamantly, my fear of sounding insane already turning into a dull sting of betrayal that she couldn't take me on my word.

"No one is saying you are, Skylar." Jasper said soothingly, suddenly closer to us, sitting only as far away as the other end of the couch. If I reached out my arm, the tips of my fingers would brush his pale skin. Something warned me, however, that he wasn't used to such physical contact and that I shouldn't press my luck.

"Where did Emmett go with the cell phone? I think I should talk to Edward." Kelsey said calmly, getting up and disappearing into the same room Emmett had just gone into a few moments ago.

As soon as she was gone Jasper took another large, cleansing breath. His eyebrows furrowed and he took another. A look of utter confusion passed across his face. He looked at me, bewildered. "I- I don't smell anything." He stated aloud as if he were trying to convince himself it was true.

I sniffed the air experimentally, unsure if there was something I was _supposed _to be smelling. "Neither do I." I agreed upon deducing that there was absolutely _nothing_ permeating the air- not the musky smell of undusted furniture nor the lemon-scented spray Kelsey so often used around the apartment.

Jasper shook his head in shocked amusement. "You're not normal, are you?" He laughed, sounding uncharacteristically carefree. "But Bella wasn't either, I suppose."

I rubbed my temples, pondering at how unavoidable the subject of Bella-fucking-Cullen was in this crackpot household. "I swear to God, if you say her name one more time I will roundhouse kick you in the face." I grumbled, trying my hardest to intimidate him.

He gave a looping half-grin at my threat. "Yet somehow you two couldn't be more different." He closed his eyes and took another relaxed breath as his half-grin turned into a full-grin. "Nothing." His said again in a voice of confirmation.

I shook my head and looked away, too caught up in my own drama to deal with any of the Cullen family strangeness at the moment. "Got any Patron?" I asked, as suddenly a shot of tequila sounded like heaven on earth. I would have really settled for any brand of liquor, but judging by the looks of this place, they didn't carry anything but top-shelf.

"No, no." I heard Kelsey chastise me as she came back into the room. "The last thing you need right now is to get wasted."

"Doesn't matter. We don't have any anyway." Emmett said as he followed in a few paces behind her. "Though I admire your choice of poison."

"Edward will be here in a minute." Kelsey informed me, sitting back down in her seat on the couch.

"I don't really care if Edward comes or not." I lied. "We just needed a place to crash until the sun rises and the full moon goes away."

She shook her head in response. "The full moon isn't due for another week and a half."

"Well then tell that to the werewolves, because apparently they don't know."

Emmett's booming laugher filled the expanse of the room and I snuck a casual glance at Jasper, who was once again tense and statue-like.

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "Why are you so scared of wolves all of the sudden? What happened to the Skylar that was out befriending the wildlife a couple weeks ago?" She asked, referencing Fluffy, one of the local "friendly" wolves, as Seth had put it.

"Oh my god." I shot up at the mention of the oddly well-trained animal as a horrible realization dawned upon me. "Fluffy is one of them!" I accused with horror. I felt strangely betrayed by the wolf I had somewhat adopted, now that it turned out to be a mutant, vicious, possibly man-eating creature.

Kelsey locked eyes with me and I could see the same train of thought as it ran through her mind. "But who…?" She started, only to trail off in wonder.

"Jacob." I said immediately, as much to my own surprise as hers. "Don't ask me how I know- I just do. Fluffy was Jacob." I repeated, beyond sure of myself.

She nodded distantly, and I could see her mind was somewhere else. "The other one… it was Paul, I think. I- I know."

I thought back to the other, temperamental wolf we had met briefly. It growled and snapped at us the whole time. "Makes sense." I shrugged.

She shook her head. "No, it does not _make sense_. None of this makes any _sense_!" She exclaimed. "I mean, there must be some sort of scientific explanation for this, some genetic glitch to show how this is all possible. I simply cannot accept this at face value. Do you have a laptop I could borrow? I'd like to do some research." Kelsey asked Emmett, who nodded and led her out of the room.

I watched them go again and smiled internally at her antics. "That's her coping mechanism." I explained to Jasper. "Logic. I can't imagine what will happen when she discovers there isn't any."

"What's your coping mechanism?" He asked me curiously.

I opened my mouth to tell him I didn't need one, but I was interrupted. "She has two. Dance and raspberries, of all things." Edward said as she strolled casually in, holding a massive handful of the aforementioned red fruit. "They're fresh picked off the bush. There's a patch of them in the woods just outside the house. Here, take them." He said, turning his palm over and pouring them into my cupped hands.

"Where's the rest of the Brady Bunch?" I asked, surprised his overbearing sister wasn't already flittering around me like a little faerie.

He smirked. "They're just a little bit slower than me."

"Raspberries, hm?" Jasper asked, his apparent fascination with me still not quenched. "Care to explain that one?"

"It's pretty uninteresting." I said with a shrug, popping one into my mouth. "There was a raspberry bush in my backyard and Alex and I used to pick handfuls of them in the summer. We would eat fresh raspberries from April to October. They remind me of home."

Jasper raised a questioning eyebrow. "Well you got your raspberries. Are you going to dance for us, too?"

I rolled my eyes. "Look who got a sense of humor."

"I suppose you have some questions." Edward said, leaning back and folding his long fingers together.

"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing." I responded, suddenly growing suspicious as to exactly how _much_ he knew. There was a guilty pause and I drew back, angered. "You know everything, don't you!" I accused. "You knew and you never said a thing."

He made a face at my not-uncommon reaction. "Sky, it wasn't exactly my place-"

"Like hell it wasn't your _place_! Last time I checked, it's a bit of a fucking common courtesy to tell someone, like 'Oh, hey Skylar you know those people you're living with? Well, they're werewolves.'" I yelled, imitating his voice to the best of my ability.

Edward pursed his lips to hold in a smirk. "I'm afraid it just isn't that simple."

"Well _I'm _afraid that you're just going to have to make it that _simple_, asshole. I mean, this is horror movie shit going down here, Edward! And I'm blonde- and a chick! My horror movie life-expectancy rate is like, _here_." I said, moving my flattened hand towards the ground to indicate a low amount. My voice had tinged a bit on the hysterical side towards the end there, and I knew the shock and adrenaline were wearing off.

"Jasper? A little help here?" Edward asked, turning towards his step-brother.

Jasper shot him an annoyed look. "There are a lot of emotions bouncing around right now. There's only so much I can do at once."

Edward nodded apologetically. "Right. Sorry. Here, let me get you a bowl for those berries, Sky." I looked down, surprised to find I hadn't crushed them into a pulp in my fist.

"Already on it." Emmett said as a bowl appeared in front of me. Emmett spoke to Jasper as I poured my handful delicately into the bowl. "Oh, and uh, Jazz? The other one is upstairs, freaking out. Can I have your help on that?"

"I'm a bit predisposed at the moment." He replied, obviously frustrated.

Emmett began to whine like a child. "Ugh, but she's asking all these scientific questions about the dogs and I don't really know how to answer them…"

Edward gave him and exasperated look. "It's really not that difficult of a concept to grasp. Wolves have 24 chromosomes, humans have 23."

Emmett pouted. "She uses really big words."

"And you've graduated high school… how many times now?" He countered. "Just get back up there and at least _stall_ until Carlisle gets here and can explain everything to her."

Emmett huffed. "This is _hard_." He complained. "How did you manage all this with Bella?"

"Bella was…" He paused as if to find the right words. "Quite unique when it came to her reception of all this."

I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they might fall out of my head. "Yes, _Bella_, the angel on earth." I cooed. "Bella, the awe-inspiring goddess, the perfect paragon beauty and wonder. All hail the splendid and majestic Bella!"

Edward's eyes slid over to me, an annoyance in them that only I had the power of creating. "I'm sensing you have something to say about my wife?"

"Your wife," I informed him as I chewed on another raspberry. "Is a bitch."

There was silence as Edward sat with his eyes narrowed at me, glaring.

"This is _awesome_." Emmett whispered from the background happily.

"Go upstairs." Edward snapped at him before turning back to me. "And, pray tell, how you came to this conclusion? It surely wasn't through your extended amount of time spent talking to her, so it must have been through the second-hand accounts of the wolf pack, am I right?"

I glared back at him. "Anyone who leaves you in the state you were in in Italy is a _bitch_." I reminded him, in case he had forgotten.

His eyes drifted downward in regret. "_I _left _her_." He admitted with a frown.

I looked away. "Well then you're perfect for each other. Bella the bitch and Edward the idiot."

He smiled self-loathingly for a second and I knew his good humor wasn't completely ruined. It was still a slight shock to me every time Edward smiled. After all, I spent half a year _living_ with him in Italy and it only happened but a handful of times. "I fear we're diverging from the topic at hand." He changed the subject again.

"And which topic would that be?" I asked ever-so-politely. "The fact that my some-what-boyfriend is a monster or the fact that you failed to inform me of it?"

Edward sighed. "Preferably the former, but if you really feel the need to berate me for a little longer, then by all means, carry on."

I folded my arms, feeling petulant. "Well you just took all the fun out of it, now didn't you?"

A door slammed and the rest of the family, sans Bella and a few others, walked in. Edward got up and started murmuring to Carlisle in low tones. I looked instead at my now-dwindling supply of raspberries, marveling at how calm I was throughout this whole process.

Typically, I'm one for large explosions of emotion- anger being the most common. Instead, I felt almost a strange, foreign sense of calm rushing through my body.

It wasn't like me at all.

I tried to think, focus really hard on that calmness. It was comfortable, but it wasn't _right_, it wasn't _me_. I blow a gasket when there's a scratch on my car, why the _fuck_ am I calm now?

What's wrong with me, damnit? Freak out! Jacob Black it a werewolf- yell, scream, faint- do _something_!

And just like a light switch being turned on, the panic was back, full force, hitting me like a freight train. _I _was back.

"Ohmygod." I gasped, slumping back in the chair and suddenly feeling like I had run a marathon.

Edward was by my side in an instant, looking between me and Jasper with shocked and wide eyes. "What happened?" He asked.

"I have no idea." Jasper replied, standing up and looking equally surprised. "She just pushed me out. All at once, in a second."

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." I repeated like a mantra as the image of Leah exploding into a wolf replayed again and again against my tightly shut eyelids.

"So she's a shield, then? Like Bella?" I heard Alice ask from my other side.

"Not quite." Jasper said with a huff of frustration. "I can _feel_ everything she's feeling. But I can't project anything. It's like my power still works, but-"

"But not completely." Edward finished, nodding his head in understanding as they continued to ignore me completely. "I know the feeling."

There was a big bang on the door and I flinched, ceasing my muttering. I blinked and Alice was gone from my side.

"Let me in." The large rooms echoed, and I could hear Jacob's growled words with perfect clarity. I paled considerably and turned to Edward with wide eyes, shaking my head no, hoping to convey my panic.

"Jacob, I really don't think this is the best place for you right now." Alice said in her high-pitched, completely un-terrifying voice.

"I know she's in there with him. I can smell her. Let me the _fuck_ in." His words were not helping me to calm down at all.

"You're not supposed to be here." She replied adamantly.

"She's _my_ goddamn imprint. I'm _supposed_ to be wherever she is!" He stated heatedly.

"I have a treaty that says otherwise. You're on Cullen land right now, dog." Alice countered, sounding angrier by the second.

"Yeah? Well I have a treaty that says you can't go around biting humans and making potentially dangerous hybrids but look at how that turned out."

He must have pushed past her after he said that, because he appeared in the doorway, shaking worse than me. He looked down at my raspberry-stained mouth, horrified. "You fed her blood?" He whispered hoarsely.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Of course not. It's raspberry juice."

Jacob shook his head as if to clear a particularly disturbing thought from his mind. "Right, right. It's just… All this reminds me so much of…"

"She isn't Bella." Jasper said quietly, echoing the same sentiment I had been repeating all night.

Jacob's eyes flashed. "I know that, damnit, don't you think I know that?" He took two long strides towards me and I held up my hands defensively to shield my face.

"Don't!" I screamed.

I felt a cold arm wrap around me and I realized Edward had me in a protective, defensive stance. "Don't hurt me." I whimpered to Jacob pathetically. "Please, _please_, just go away."

I glanced up to see him stagger back, a look of utter pain on his face. A part of me ached to know I put it there, but a larger part of me (my brain) screamed that he was a monster- the kind that jumps out of your closet or hides under your bed at night.

"Skylar," I heard him whisper as scenes from the movie "The Wolfman" played through my head on constant repeat.

"Go. Away." I petitioned again.

"Give her time, alone, to process all of this." The soft voice of Dr. Cullen appeared out of virtually nowhere.

I looked at Jake's face and we made eye contact for the first time since I had stared into his glowing wolf eyes. He looked broken, his whole figure slumped as he radiated an aura of defeat.

"They're lying to you Sky." He said pleadingly. "They aren't human either-"

Edward was a complete blur as he disappeared from my side and materialized at Jacob's gripping his upper arm in what had to be a painful clutch. "She doesn't need that right now." He growled loudly.

Jacob ignored him, still maintaining eye contact with me. "You need time? Fine. Take as long as you need, just _don't _stay here, stay _anywhere_ else! They're-!"

"Get out of my house!" Edward practically roared, shoving him out the door and slamming it shut, stalking back to the couch in a rage.

He tried to sit back down next to me, but I scrambled to the other side of the couch as quickly as I could, done with ignoring all the less-than-subtle hints the universe was throwing at me. "What does he mean you aren't human?" I asked, afraid to know the answer.

Edward signed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was hoping to do this later, maybe not throw everything on you at once, but clearly Jacob has other ideas."

He looked like he was about to go on, but I held up my hand to stop him. "I only want to know one thing. Do you kill people?"

He exchanged meaningful glances with his family before answering. "It's kind of hard to answer that-"

"Um, no, it kind of isn't. Yes, you kill people, no, you don't kill people. Simple."

Jasper then took the time to offer his two cents. "We have the _potential_ to kill people."

I made a face. "That's a bullshit answer. I have the _potential_ to kill people too, but guess what? I _don't_."

"I _have_ killed people before." Edward tried again.

I threaded my fingers through the roots of my hair and pulled, not hearing the answer that I wanted. "How many?" I asked, my voice rough with emotion.

"Less than a dozen." He replied, by no means sugar-coating it.

"How long ago?" I continued my assault of questions, hoping to repress the fact that Edward was a murderer by and onslaught of information.

"A while," He said vaguely.

"How long is a 'while'?" I asked bitterly, using finger-quotes around the word. "Hours? Days? Months, years?" I continued, trying to slide farther down the couch away from him but finding there was no cushion left for me to move to.

"Decades." He said, giving me a sad smile.

"Decades!" I repeated, sure he was joking with me. "What, were you like a baby serial killer or something? I mean, you can't be more than a year or two older than me…" I gave him a good once-over just to be sure.

Yup, still the picture of youth.

"I was born in 1901."

"No, you weren't," Was my immediate reaction.

There was a long pause and I guess he was waiting to let it sink in.

When I realized he wasn't going to jump up and just randomly declare 'got'cha', my mouth dropped open comically and I stared at him really hard, unable to find so much as a wrinkle. "But… but-that would make you…" I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to do mental math, wishing Kelsey was here when I needed her. "Really fucking old!" I finally settled on.

"But you don't kill… anymore, right?" I clarified, just to make sure.

"Yes, my family and I are what you would call vegetarians." He stated with irony.

"Really?" I asked, brightening up for a moment. "So am I!"

He smirked. "We only eat animals."

I raised an eyebrow at his apparent ineptitude for the basic English language. "Are you sure you have the definition of the word vegetarian right?"

He smiled at the return of my sarcasm. "Well, technically, I'm a-"

I clapped my hands over my ears. "I don't want to know!" I yelled, taking my hands away only when I was sure he wasn't going to finish his sentence. "Tell me what you do before you tell me what kind of monster you are. Labels freak me out." I said, shivering at just the thought of the word werewolf.

"Alright," He agreed, shifting in his seat. "I read minds."

He shot it at me right off the bat, no time for preparation on my part.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, holding my heads around my skull as if that would somehow create a barrier and keep him out. "Like, all the time? Are you reading my mind right now?"

I repeated the phrase 'get the fuck out' over and over in my head just in case.

"My mind reading is like standing in a room full of people all talking at once. There's no way to turn it off, but everything just becomes background noise after a while. You, however, are different. I've only ever met one other person whose mind I could not fully read. I explained it to that person by saying it was as if mind reading was like tuning into a radio station, but I was on a different channel."

"So, you _can't _read my mind, then?" I clarified, lost in the conversation.

"What are you thinking right _now_?" He questioned intensely, ignoring me.

"I'm thinking Edward is an annoying fucktard. Did ya get that?"

He shook his head in utter fascination. "Interesting. When I read your mind Skylar, all I hear is music."

"Music?" I repeated skeptically. "What kind of music?" At the very least I hoped my mind wasn't blasting out Justin Bieber, because if it was I can kiss all of my street-cred goodbye.  
>He shrugged. "All kinds. Usually the music is indicative of your mood, though. Like when you came with your baseball bat a few weeks ago, there was a lot of guttural male screaming and guitar riffs."<p>

"So what you're saying is," I stated out carefully, afraid to get my hopes up. "My life has a built-in soundtrack?"

He laughed. "I never thought of it that way, but yes. Basically, you can manipulate other people's powers. Like Jasper, for example, is an empath. He reads emotions and can force an emotion on a person. But when he tried to calm you down earlier, after a few moments you somehow blocked him out. You twisted his power to be the opposite and suddenly he was absorbing emotion from you, rather than giving it."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say 'oh'?"

I shrugged. "What the fuck do you want me to do, jump up and down, give myself a high-five?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't really know, but I was expecting something a little more climactic than just a tiny 'oh'."

"If you don't mind me asking," Alice piped in from her seat next to Jasper where she had stayed extremely quiet the whole time. "What do _you_ think we are? Monster-wise, I mean."

"At the moment, my best guess is mermaid." I admitted.

All three of them immediately burst out into laughter. "_How_ in the world did you ever come up with _that_?" Edward asked, sounding on the verge of tears.

"It's not _that_ unreasonable!" I defended indignantly. "I mean, you're all pale and pretty. The mind reading can be chalked up to some sort of underwater telekinetic communicating system, and you don't age, which could be a mermaid thing or not, hell if I know."

"Well, we _can_ breathe underwater. Or just not breathe at all." Jasper said thoughtfully.

"There you go." I spread my arms wide as if to say 'what further proof is necessary?'

"What if I told you we sparkle in the sunlight?" Edward offered, a grin still lingering on his lips.

"Faeries!" I accused, pointing my finger at him.

"Nope."

"Elves?"

"Not even close. You're thinking far too… friendly. We're a bit more intimidating than that."

I sighed. "I give up. Just tell me."

"Promise you won't run away or freak out?"

I smirked, doubting it could be much worse than werewolf. "Promise." I replied, feeling far better off knowing he wasn't _completely_ a cold-blooded murderer.

"Vampire."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Not the best chapter I've ever written, I'm afraid. It got a little bit better at the end there, but yeah. At the very least, I hope it's entertaining. I'm anticipating more Kelsey and Paul in the next one, and mayyybee some Jacob I don't know quite yet. But sometime within the next, say three or four chapters, you're going to get to meet Tom and Brian and Alex, so that should be exciting. Thanks again for all the support :)**


	13. a visitor

**Chapter 13- a visitor**

_I am the monster that breathing men would kill. I am Dracula. __**–Dracula**_

* * *

><p>"Sky? Hello? Anyone in there?" Edward asked, hiding his apprehension with a thinly masked veil of amusement.<p>

_Vampire_.

The word made its way into my brain before implanting itself fully. I had promised Edward I wouldn't freak out and I intended on keeping that promise, so that meant I had approximately one minute to process this new information before returning to reality in at least a semi-healthy mental state. It would be a challenge.

"She'll come back any second now." Alice chirped pleasantly, settling deeper into her seat.

This seemed to pacify Edward, who then calmed considerably. The room quieted peacefully as everyone waited for my response. After a few difficult and stalled moments of deliberation, I finally managed to give out my croaked retort. "I think… you broke me."

"My sincerest apologies." He said, but I could hear the undercurrent of sarcasm in his voice.

"This is weird." I admitted, glancing around hesitantly at the room full of vampires.

"We never said it wasn't." Edward shrugged back at me. "You seem to be handling it fairly well though."

I bit my lip but just couldn't help myself. The vampire jokes were just too easy. "Do you _vant_ to suck my _blahd_?" I hissed at him in my best Transylvanian accent.

He sighed. "And she's back."

I gave him a look. "I can't help that I have a fast rebound rate. But in the meantime, would you care to inform me of any other mythical creatures who've set up shop around here? Perchance, does there happen to be a clan of demigods or wizards camped out in the woods? Or maybe a portion of the forest is sectioned off, designated specifically for Martians hailing from Jupiter? Or are my guesses not _wild_ enough?"

"Full disclosure- we are the only mythical beasts in the area." He promised.

I let my shoulders sag a little in relief. "That's nice to hear. Did you tell Kelsey about your… um… _state_?" I prompted, unsure of what to call it.

"We were going to leave that to you, actually."

I sneered. "Gee, how thoughtful of you."

As if on cue, Carlisle and Emmett emerged from the top of the staircase, Kelsey in tow. "Skylar has something else to share with you." I heard Carlisle say to her softly as they descended the stairs. Though she was a few shades paler than usual, she wasn't as stricken-looking as I anticipated.

In fact, she looked (dare I say it) rather calm. "I think I already know what she's going to say to me." She replied to him quietly, coming down to sit next to me.

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

She spoke in a reasonable tone of voice, as if she had rationalized everything out in her head and it somehow came out making sense to her. "Well, running under the assumption that the legends told at the bonfire held at least a practical degree of truth, that would mean the 'cold ones' also existed. Despite the fact that your family fits their description, you seem generally harmless, at least around Skylar and I. Which leads me to the conclusion that you all are, in fact, these aforementioned 'cold ones' who have merely assimilated into society enough to blend in and hide your secrets. And you seem to have a good enough grip on any of your urges that you do not pose a direct threat to either Skylar or me." She finished.

Emmett whistled in amazement. "That's quite a talent you've got there."

She shrugged humbly. "I observe things. I'm good at it."

"I'll say." He reiterated.

"Yeah, you basically just gave me more information then _I _already knew, and I got the five minute rundown from the source." I said, feeling pride in my best friend.

"What I really want," Kelsey started slowly, folding her hands together. "Is for one of the wolves to come over. So we can see him, hear his side, and so I can analyze the situation more clearly."

All eyes turned to me, expecting an argument. I did not fail to deliver. "What is there left to analyze? Boy plus Native American tribal voodoo equals wolf. Pale person to the cubed root of human blood equals vampire! Done! Analyzed!" I solved for her.

"That's not an accurate-" Kelsey interjected, no doubt to dispute my irrefutable mathematical evidence.

"Look, Kels." I pleaded with her, desperate to keep my distance from the "wolf pack." "I get that you like to have every piece of the puzzle and all, but if you step back and see the Eiffel Tower, a sleeve of baguettes, and a dude wearing a beret, isn't it _okay_ to assume you're making a puzzle of France?"

Her lips twitched in amusement. "It's a good thing you didn't major in English, because that was possibly the worst metaphor I've ever heard."

I put my hands on my hips. "You know what I meant."

She huffed. "DNA based theoretical studies involving science and the supernatural are a little more complicated than… _puzzles_. You need every piece of the puzzle if you've never seen the picture before. Now why don't you tell us the _real_ reason you don't want to bring one of the werewolves over."

I shuddered slightly. "You didn't see it bro- it was scary as shit. They clearly aren't in control of themselves. It could be very dangerous."

"Not with us around it won't be." Emmett said from the background, cracking his knuckles and just generally looking menacing. "They know they gotta stay in line around here."

Kelsey raised her hands in a gesture towards him and gave me a pointed look as if to say _'see?'_

"Come on!" I whined. "Don't you ever just have a _feeling_, you know, when something just isn't right? A gut feeling that tells you not to do something?"

"No, I have a brain that analyzes evidence and derives from it the best course of action based off of morality and personal interest."

I shook my head. "God, you're so strange. Why am I even friends with you?"

She smirked, looking full of herself. "You love me. Now are you all out of arguments?"

I sighed heavily, unwilling to do what I was about to do. "Fine. But just… no Jacob." I compromised, hoping she wouldn't try to force an explanation out of me on that one.

Thankfully, she took my rare kindness quietly without question. I think I needed a little bit more time before I could quite face Jacob again. "That's fine, I suppose. We can just have Paul." She said with a shrug, the name rolling off her tongue rather quickly if you ask me.

"Um, that maybe isn't the _best_ idea." Edward interrupted with his opinion. I had a snarky comment at the ready, but I held it back this time. We had finally found a point that we agreed upon.

"Why not?" She questioned, a quizzical look on her face.

"I just think you should pick a different mutt. Like Seth, or _Sam_, even. That one… well, let's just say that much of the pack gossip centers around his lack of self-control."

Kelsey kept her composure well, but I could see the most minute amount of bristling as she listened to Edward denounce Paul. "I have faith in him." She said, sounding off hand and dismissive, but I knew better.

"And what the hell has he ever done to inspire faith in _you_? I didn't even know the word _faith_ was in your vocabulary." I challenged spitefully.

"He just _did_, okay?" She shot back, sounding strangely defensive and almost territorial.

"What happened to all that bullshit about the accumulation of facts based off of evidence?"

She sighed, knowing the she had contradicted herself. "Are you going to tell him to come or not?" She asked Carlisle weakly.

He looked to me in confirmation. "Are you sure that's okay with you, Skylar?"

"Whatever." I conceded in annoyance. "It's not so much the choice of wolf that bothers me, but the _hypocrisy_ of certain best friends who shall not be named."

"Wonder who that could be." Edward mused aloud.

"No one asked you, Dracula!" I snapped at him.

He held up his hands, palms out in surrender. "Looks like someone's wound pretty tight."

"I've had a rough night. Don't talk." I ordered.

He shrugged and got up from the chair as if it didn't matter much to him anyway. "I guess I'll go call Sam."He stated, pulling a sleek black cell phone out of his pocket as he walked away.

"You mean you aren't going to send a formally written letter to the house?" I asked, casting a side glance at Alice as I recalled her doing the exact same thing with me not too long ago.

She smiled deviously. "I knew that if I had actually called the house, you would just hang up on me. A _letter_ though, you would have to finish reading at some point.

I thought about it for a second. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"I usually am."

"She's not just being conceded." Jasper butted in. "Alice can see into the future."

"She can what now?" I spit out, disbelieving. I could see Kelsey lean forward in her seat, becoming more engaged in the conversation.

Alice spoke offhand, blowing it off as if it wasn't as big of a deal as Jasper was making it seem. "I get flashes into the future, from time to time. But nothing is definite. It's all according to the choice path that someone is following at that given moment."

"What do you mean _flashes_? Like 'That's so Raven?'" I pondered aloud.

"That's so what?"

"Raven. You know, the old TV show."

"Oh," She furrowed her eyebrows, clearly trying to recall it but coming up short. "I don't watch much television."

"Not even _Disney_?" I tried to contain my shock and horror as she shook her head. "That's… that's… _inhumane_!" I exclaimed, feeling sorry for her.

Edward came sauntering back into the room, interrupting our conversation along the way. "If you two are done with your sisterly bonding, Sam said he sent Paul up. He should be here in a few minutes."

"That was quick." I commented.

"Well, he picked up on the first ring. Judging from the frantic sounds in the background, everyone was eagerly awaiting our call."

I snorted. "They're probably just worried that I'll tell people about their weird gene deformation that turns them into werewolves."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Yes, I'm sure that would be a cause for concern. You're hardly the type of person to keep it to yourself."

"But-" I started to dispute his statement before realizing he was mostly true. "Okay. Fair point."

There was a bit of awkward silence where no one knew what to say. I felt compelled to fill it with my nervous questions. "What are you going to ask Paul?" I turned to Kelsey, unsure of exactly what she was expecting from this upcoming conversation.

"Details. Technicalities. How this whole thing is possible."

"And you thought to yourself: 'out of all the people to ask such high-thinking, contemplative questions, _Paul_ would be the most reliable?'" I asked in a skeptical voice.

I could tell she was going to reprimand me before she even opened her mouth. "Not all of us are so quick to judge and slow to forgive, Skylar."

I scoffed. "Please. Don't even start with your holier-than-thou bullshit."

"Well then don't start with _your_ sarcastic remarks to everything I have to say." She countered.

Carlisle took a look at the two of us and made a face like he was a reluctant peacekeeper, hating the fact that he had to intervene. "Okay, maybe we should all just take a deep breath." He suggested, holding his hands out towards us warily.

I folded my arms over my chest with a 'hmph' noise.

Edward watched me with a critical eye. "Did you ever _mature_ past the age of, say, five?"

"Says the ancient vampire who still looks like a pubescent teen." I said patronizingly.

"Well at least I _act_ my age." He shot back at me.

"It sure doesn't seem like it with all this childish bickering going on!" Carlisle snapped, finally reaching the end of his rope. Judging by the silence in the room, this was rather out of character for him. "Edward, really? I thought you were above this."

Edward opened his mouth to respond, but after a particularly withering look from Carlisle, he closed his mouth and thought better of it.

Carlisle extended his fatherly glare to the whole room, subjecting each of us to it in turn. "Now, here's what's going to happen. You are all going to take a seat where you will remain _silent_ until the wolf shows up. If any one of you so much as _glances_ at another person with a hint of ire, they will apologize and leave the room. Understood?"

There was a chorus of reluctant grunts as we all did what we were told. No one made a single peep as we all waited for Paul, with demeanors ranging from petulant to thoroughly reprimanded.

Less than five minutes in, Alice stood up. "He's here." She announced before leaving the room, Jasper quick to follow.

Paul walked in unannounced, not even bothering to knock on the door. I didn't really know what to make of him. Part of me was kind of expecting him to look scarier somehow, more intimidating now that I knew what he really was. But no. Just same old Paul with the smirk on his face.

"You _rang_?" He said cockily, plopping down in the nearest chair and putting his feet up on the coffee table like he owned the place.

I grimaced at the sound of his voice, already regretting my decision to stay for Kelsey's safety.

"Yes," Kelsey leaned forward indulgingly. "I was hoping you could tell us of the _particulars_ of your race. Scientifically, that is. I'm just trying to make heads and tails of this whole situation, and anything you could tell me would really help."

Paul leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Well…" He drawled out slowly. "While I've never been one much for _science_-" I snorted. "-I'll see what I can do."

"Great!" Kelsey clapped her hands together far too enthusiastically for my taste. "Let me just get a notepad and we can get started."

"This is ridiculous." I muttered as soon as she left the room.

"Oh, _Skylar!_" Paul perked up, pretending as if he had just noticed me. "You're still here, are you? I'm shocked. I would have thought you darted away with your tail between your legs by now." He smirked.

I was in no mood to play along. "Shut the fuck up, Paul. You're wasting my oxygen."

Conveniently, Kelsey walked back in just at this moment, having heard only my charged comment, making _me_ look like the aggressor. Paul took full advantage of it, too. His face adopted a pitiful, vulnerable look and he held his hands up innocently. "Woah there tiger, it was just an observation. No need to break bad on me."

"You little piece of-"

"_Skylar!_" Kelsey gave me a look that would turn Medusa herself into stone.

"But I didn't do anything!" I turned to look for a Cullen to back me up, but they had all seemed to disappear. Goddamn unreliable vampires.

"Why don't you sit down and close your mouth, because to be honest, I'm just about here with you and it would really help it you would just stay out of this for a few moments." She glared.

She was serious about it, and her words shut a sting of betrayal into me, but I masked it well. "Whatever, Mom." I muttered, walking out of the room and into the kitchen to find something to eat.

Sitting in the room with his hands folded and looking calm was Jasper, who was quickly becoming my favorite vampire of the bunch. "She didn't mean it you know." He said, pushing the half eaten bowl of raspberries across the table to me as I took a seat. "She's just stressed, like all of us right now."

"I know." I sighed, taking a berry out of the bowl and rolling it around in my hand. "Fighting with her just always makes me feel like shit though, because I know I'm always the initiator or whatever… what with my sunny disposition and all."

He gave a small chuckle. "Not everything's your fault, you know. You can't help that you saw Jacob phase mere hours after he- how did you put it?- 'made out with you in a parking lot?'"

I groaned. "Ugh, let's not talk about that, shall we? All I can think about right now is an image of myself being ripped to tiny pieces and devoured by a flesh-eating wolf."

Jasper leaned back thoughtfully. "You know, between vampires and werewolves, in all truth, you picked a much more dangerous creature to put your trust in."

"How so?" I asked hesitantly.

Jasper smiled sheepishly. "Let me paint you a picture here. In one scenario, you make a werewolf angry. He shakes, you run to a safe distance, he turns into a wolf, a few seconds of growling but he feels instantly regretful. He turns back into a human and you approach him, virtually unharmed, before he apologizes and you ride off into the sunset together." He paused.

"And… the other scenario?" I asked, unable to stop myself.

"The other scenario… you make a _vampire_ angry. _Best_ possible ending, you die immediately. _Worst _possible ending… he toys with you. You try to run, but he's everywhere. He's too fast, you can't outrun him and he feels no regret or remorse. The next thing you know his lips are pressed into the skin on your neck and you're being drained dry of blood before he leaves you on the ground, lifeless, and probably never thinks about you again."

There was a moment of silence before I verbalized my reaction. "You're not exactly endearing yourself to me right now."

He smiled. "And yet for some reason you've taken a liking to me."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Fucking empath." I muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.

He laughed, only to be interrupted by Paul's booming voice behind me. "You missed the moral of the story, Skylar. What he was trying to say was go talk to Jacob before he blows his fucking brains out. I'm leaving, but I know for a fact that no one in the pack will be sleeping tonight. Come to Emily's when you're ready."

Kelsey, whose arms had been crossed as she stood behind him, quickly shot her hand out to grab hold of his shoulder before he left. "Hey, um… thanks, Paul." She muttered quietly, unable to make eye contact with him and staring at the floor, instead.

Paul's eyes were glued to her hand, making it appear as if he was trying to memorize the exact way it looked as it rested on his bare russet skin. "No problem." He rumbled, his voice rough as she slowly slid her hand away. "And Kelsey?"

"Hm?" Her head snapped up so quickly I swear she almost gave herself whiplash.

"I'm really sorry. About all that shit I said, a while back. I didn't- I never meant to…I never want to hurt you." His shoulders slumped a little at his admission.

"I forgive you." She whispered back at him, not missing a beat.

They made eye contact at the same time and a second or two of silent communication seemed to pass through them. Paul gave a solemn nod, to which Kelsey responded with a soft "Bye," before they both turned away and he walked out like nothing at all had transpired.

It was weird.

The door made a clicking noise as it shut and I waited a second before asking the question that had to be on everyone's mind. "What the fuck?"

Kelsey rolled her eyes at me and walked out, clearly still annoyed with me. I turned to Jasper instead. "You just witnessed that too, right? It wasn't normal, _right_?" I questioned, needing validation.

He smirked. "It's much more complicated than you think." His response was vague.

"_Oh_ no." I accused, pointing my finger at him menacingly. "Don't you start with all this mysterious shit. I get quite enough of it from your brother and the pack of werewolves that live down the street."

"They're actually _shape-shifters_, not werewolves!" Kelsey called out from the other room to correct me.

"You say tomato, I say huge ass motherfucking wolf." I muttered under my breath.

Edward appeared out of nowhere, leaning against the doorframe and looking like his usual Calvin Klein model self. "You should go to Sam's house and talk to the Pack. They're worried about you." He advised.

"Why, you kicking me out already?"

"No, but you've calmed down enough that I think waiting another week is rather useless."

I smiled at him tauntingly. "Is my head playing some nice soft Jazz music for you, Ed?"

He gave me a mean grin. "Did you know that you have a PMS soundtrack, Sky?"

"No!" I clamped my hands firmly over my ears, trying to block out the sound of his voice. "No. No. No. You win. Fine, I'll go talk to them. Just… _never_ talk to me about my period again, okay?" I said with a shudder.

He threw his head back and laughed. Kelsey shot into the room, looking apprehensive but excited. "You agreed? We're going now?"

I huffed, dropping my hands. "Look at you, little miss impatient. I was going to take a shower first. If we're going to party with wolves tonight, the least I can do is look and smell edible for them."

Alice practically materialized in my face. I can never see myself getting used to that. "Leave it to me." She said, beginning to drag me up the stairs already.

"I'm not wearing any more of your ball gowns, Tinker Bell." I made sure to warn.

She sighed. "Sky, we've been over this. I'm a _vampire_, not a faerie."

I shook my head stubbornly. "No, you're lying to me. There's no _way_ you can be anything other than a faerie."

She smiled with amusement, pushing me into a nearly unused bathroom. "I'll have your clothes picked out when you're finished!" She said, shutting the door in my face.

I grimaced but knew better than to argue with the high-strung creature. She would win no matter what.

I took a lightening-fast shower, reveling in the feel of the warm water hitting my body as it helped to calm my nerves. I then spent half an hour arguing with Alice over what I was going to wear. In case you weren't aware, arguing with Alice over clothes is kind of like bargaining for your soul with the Devil.

I say no to skirts and she insists on curling my hair. I nix anything floral and she pulls out the polka dots. And I insist, above all, no fucking pink, and you know what she says?

"How do you feel about fuchsia?"

I threw my hands up in utter disbelief. "I am like, five hundred percent done with you right now, Alice. Five _hundred._"

She pouted, lowering the shirt in her hands before starting to speak in a reasonable tone of voice. "How about this instead. You dress yourself tonight, however painful it will be for me to watch. In return, you promise to come see Edward's show as Benaroya, and I get to make you as pretty as I want. No arguments."

I thought over the offer for a moment. After a second or two of contemplation, I grabbed her ice-cold hand and gave it a firm shake. "You've got a deal, Nosferatu."

She laughed, a twinkling noise. "Are the vampire nicknames going to continue?"

I shrugged. "Probably"

I threw on the same clothes I was wearing before, not even bothering to dry my hair. I could see Alice cringing out of the corner of my eye, but I felt no remorse. She would have her fun later.

It was during my short trip back down the stairs when the nerves started really kicking in. Kelsey was still waiting in the kitchen, looking very impatient. "Hold on." I told her before she could even open her mouth.

"I have an idea." I proposed to the small… _coven_ of vampires all seated around the kitchen table.

"Go on…" Carlisle permitted.

"I would like a bodyguard." I said, eyeing up Emmett and his tank-sized muscles. "Strictly for the purposes of this visit, of course."

Emmett's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. "Ooh, yes! That would be so much fun." He grinned.

Carlisle held up a hand to silence him. "While I'm not denying that you would most likely enjoy yourself very much, I'm afraid it is off our territory. To accompany you would be to break the treaty."

"Treaty?" I echoed.

"It's a bit of an agreement between us and the wolves. A 'you stay on your side and we'll stay on ours' kind of deal." He explained, summing it up for me.

"Then…" I began to surmise in my head, tapping my chin thoughtfully with my finger. "Didn't _Jacob_ break the treaty when he came over all in a tizzy earlier? And _Paul_, just now?"

"_Well_…" He drawled, having the decency to look sheepish. "We have been rather, _lax_ with the policies in recent years. But still, bringing Emmett into a room full of irritable wolves and their mates… is a _very_ bad idea. No matter how well we get along sometimes."

Emmett deflated in disappointment and I huffed in annoyance, stomping over to the counter and yanking open various drawers, trying to find what I was looking for. The kitchen was so fricking big though, it would literally take me _years_ to search all of it. I gave up quickly. "Where do you keep the forks?" I shot at Edward, who very simply leaned over and opened a drawer for me, looking confused.

They remained quiet as I grabbed each fork, testing its point with my finger. Edward finally cracked the silence. "Any _particular_ reason you feel the need to inspect our silverware, Skylar?" He asked.

I turned to him, clutching in my hand what I was not positive was the sharpest fork in the bunch. "I figured if I can't have my very own vampire bodyguard, I might as well arm myself with some silver. At least, that's what Ann Rice and Bram Stoker taught me. Vampires hate garlic, sunlight, and crucifixes. Werewolves hate silver. Probably more things too, but I can't remember."

Kelsey tugged on my arm, leading me away. "Alright, Buffy. You almost done creating an arsenal of weapons for yourself?"

The door shut loudly behind us as we walked out. "Yeah, yeah." I muttered, making my way back to my car. "But if I _die_- it's on _you_." I told her harshly. "_All_ of you!" I added, knowing the vampires could still hear me even through the outer walls of the house.

"Cut the drama and get in the car, Kai." She told me, slamming the passenger door.

And so at roughly three AM, I drove with my possibly deranged best friend to Emily's house so we could bond with a bunch of werewolves.

This is my life.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So hey. If you want to know why it's been so long since I've posted, it's because I've been writing a novella called "How to Juggle 4 Fanfics, 3 AP classes, Extracurriculars, a Job, and a Semi-Functioning Social Life." …that was a joke… But yeah my sincerest apologies but this chapter was also really hard to write for some reason. Hope you liked it! Also- do you like the book cover I made? I forgot to tell you guys, I have a new story coming out soon-ish, it's a Kim/Jared story, so keep your eyes peeled. I'll tell you when I actually post it. That's all! Thanks as always for the support, it is always loved and appreciated. **


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